Use of moss and lichen species to identify 210Po-contaminated regions

Abstract

²¹⁰Po concentration in urban air fluctuates as a result of natural ²²²Rn radionuclide exhalation and technical activity that is especially linked with high-temperature processes. Each year, an average 11 GBq of ²¹⁰Po is released from local power plants into urban air. Over two months, about 180 samples in central Poland were collected. To detect the concentration of ²¹⁰Po activity, two common species of biomonitors were chosen: the moss Pleurozium schreberi and the lichen Hypogymnia physodes. For the same locale, ²¹⁰Po in lichen shows an average of twice the amount of activity concentration than the moss. In moss, ²¹⁰Po concentrations in Lodz ranged from 41.5 Bq kg⁻¹ to 258.0 Bq kg⁻¹, while in lichen it ranges from 74.2 Bq kg⁻¹ to 670.9 Bq kg⁻¹. On the basis of the measured activity of ²¹⁰Po maps, radionuclide distribution has been prepared. For areas identified with higher concentrations of ²¹⁰Po, Quantum Gis has been applied.