Do plants reflect atmospheric concentrations of persistent organic contaminants?
- Lancaster Univ. (United Kingdom)
Chemical analysis of several types of plants -- such as pine needles, lichens, mosses and grasses -- has been used by numerous workers as a means of inferring spatial and temporal variations in the atmospheric concentrations of persistent organic compounds (e.g. PCBs, PAHs, CBs and PCDD/Fs). This is usually because plants are perceived as convenient `passive` air samplers and assumed to `integrate` variations in ambient concentrations during their lifetime. More recently, various researchers have sought to understand the mechanisms of exchange/uptake at the air vegetation surface, with a view to refining the use of vegetation sampling techniques and understanding the role of vegetation in influencing the global cycling of these compounds. This presentation will review some of the recent advances in this area, highlighting some of pitfalls and beneficial uses of employing plants as `monitoring tools`.
- OSTI ID:
- 49603
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-9410273-; TRN: IM9523%%426
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 15. annual meeting of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC), Denver, CO (United States), 30 Oct - 3 Nov 1994; Other Information: PBD: 1994; Related Information: Is Part Of Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry 15th annual meeting: Abstract book. Ecological risk: Science, policy, law, and perception; PB: 286 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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