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Biomonitoring of Toxic Compounds of Airborne Particulate Matter in Urban and Industrial Areas

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Urban Airborne Particulate Matter

Part of the book series: Environmental Science and Engineering ((ENVSCIENCE))

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Abstract

The toxicity and ecotoxicity of airborne particulate matter is determined by its physical features, but also by its chemical composition. The standardised exposure of accumulative bioindicator plants is suggested as an efficient and reliable tool to assess and monitor effects of particulate matter on man and environment. Two widely applied biomonitoring procedures, namely the standardised ryegrass exposure for monitoring of trace metals, and the standardised exposure of curly kale for monitoring of PAH compounds, is presented taking examples from a Europe-wide biomonitoring study conducted in 11 European cities. The presented studies proved the suitability of the procedures applied and demonstrated the high relevance of traffic emissions for particle-bound trace metal and PAH pollution in urban areas. Recommendations for the further standardisation of methods and wider application of these methods in environmental monitoring programmes are made.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the LIFE Environment Programme of the European Commission, DG Environment, under the grant LIFE/99/ENV/D/000453. We thank the following local and regional authorities and their respective project leaders and co-workers for their valuable support: Landes-hauptstadt Düsseldorf, Umweltamt (H.-W. Hentze, M. Wiese), Communauté urbaine de Lyon, Ecologie urbaine (O. Laurent), Comune di Verona, Servizio Ecologia (T. Basso, N. Belluzzo, S. Oliboni, S. Pisani, R. Tardiani), The City of Edinburgh Council, Air Quality Section (T. Stirling), Sheffield City Council, Environment & Regulatory Services (G. McGrogan, N. Chaplin), Landeshauptstadt Klagenfurt, Abt. Umweltschutz (H.-J. Gutsche), City of Copenhagen, EPA (J. Dahl Madsen), Generalitat de Catalunya, Dept. Medi Ambient, Barcelona (X. Guinart), Communauté Urbaine du Grand Nancy (F. Perrollaz), City of Glyfada (G. Kolovou), and Ayuntamiento de Valencia, Oficina Tècnica de la Devesa-Albufera (A. Vizcaino, A. Quintana) as well as the municipalities of Ditzingen, Plochingen, Deizisau and Altbach (Germany). We thank J. Breuer (State Institute of Agricultural Chemistry, University of Hohenheim) and A. Trenkle (Agricultural Research Institute LTZ Augustenberg, Germany) for performing analyses of antimony concentrations in ryegrass and PAH concentrations in curly kale, respectively. The donation of ryegrass seeds by Nordddeutsche Pflanzenzucht is gratefully acknowledged. Gratitude is also expressed to the staff of all institutions involved in the present studies.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Landscape & Plant Ecology and Life Science Center, University of Hohenheim, 70599, Stuttgart, Germany

    Andreas Klumpp

  2. Biological Institute, University of Copenhagen, Øster Farimagsgade 2D, 1353, Copenhagen K, Denmark

    Helge Ro-Poulsen

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  1. Andreas Klumpp
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  2. Helge Ro-Poulsen
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Correspondence to Andreas Klumpp .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Inst. Atmosphäre und Umwelt, AG Umweltanalytik, Universität Frankfurt, Altenhöfer Allee 1, Frankfurt, 60438, Germany

    Fathi Zereini

  2. Inst. Environmental Studies (IES), Adaptation and Impacts Research, University of Toronto, Willcocks Street 33, Toronto, M5S 3E8, Ontario, Canada

    Clare L. S. Wiseman

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Klumpp, A., Ro-Poulsen, H. (2010). Biomonitoring of Toxic Compounds of Airborne Particulate Matter in Urban and Industrial Areas. In: Zereini, F., Wiseman, C. (eds) Urban Airborne Particulate Matter. Environmental Science and Engineering(). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-12278-1_24

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