- Krste Misirkov bb 2000 Shtip, R. Macedonia
- ++38932550612
Biljana Balabanova
Univerzitet Goce Delcev, Chemistry, Faculty Member
This is the first study to use moss transplants as a biomonitoring technique and inductively plasma mass spectrometry to investigate airborne potentially toxic element pollution and air quality in urban areas on a regional scale across... more
This is the first study to use moss transplants as a biomonitoring technique and inductively plasma mass spectrometry to investigate airborne potentially toxic element pollution and air quality in urban areas on a regional scale across nine Southeastern European countries. The mosses in bags were exposed for 2 months during the winter season (2019/2020) at five sites in each of the selected urban areas next to air quality (AQ) monitoring stations. The sites were selected concerning different land use classes (typical urban, residential, urban background, and rural sites). The concentrations of 35 elements were determined using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. A comparison with elemental analysis performed by total reflection X-ray fluorescence is also presented. Concentrations of the potentially toxic element in moss bags exposed in urban areas were significantly higher, while those exposed in rural areas did not differ significantly from the initial content of unexpose...
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Cadmium (Cd) is an important toxic heavy metal and the warning of health risks from Cd pollution were issued initially in the ‘70s. Increased concentrations of Cd in agricultural soils are known to come from human activities, such as the... more
Cadmium (Cd) is an important toxic heavy metal and the warning of health risks from Cd pollution were issued initially in the ‘70s. Increased concentrations of Cd in agricultural soils are known to come from human activities, such as the application of phosphate fertilizer, sewage sludge, wastewater, pesticides, mining and smelting of metalliferous ores with high Cd content, and traffic. Although there are many reports on Cd contamination in agricultural soils, most of the investigations are concentrated in the vicinity of the mine sites. But concerning point is certainly dealing with the problem of cadmium soil pollution. Remediation has been improved as most effective for soil pollution. Recently phytoremediation has been improved as one of the most convenient techniques for remediation of heavy metals from contaminated soils. The main purpose of the present study was to determine the effectiveness of soybean varieties for phytoremediation of agricultural soils with higher content...
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The determination of mineral composition and nutritional value of wheat is extremely important as it takes an important place among the crop species being extensively grown as staple food sources. The importance of wheat is mainly due to... more
The determination of mineral composition and nutritional value of wheat is extremely important as it takes an important place among the crop species being extensively grown as staple food sources. The importance of wheat is mainly due to the fact that its seed can be ground into flour, semolina, etc., which form the basic ingredients of bread and other bakery products, and thus it presents the main source of nutrients to the most of the world population. According to this, the main objective of this research is to determine the content of some macro and micro elements in grain of wheat varieties. Three soft wheat varieties are used as an experimental material (radika, amazon 150 and pobeda) in this examination. The seed was produced for commercial purpose from first generation certification seed (C1) in 2018. The laboratory researches are conducted in "Unilab" laboratory at Faculty of Agriculture in Shtip, Republic of North Macedonia. Microwave digestion method (model Mars...
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The environmental concern in mining areas is primarily related to physical disturbanceof the surrounding landscape, mine tailings spill, emitted dust and acid mine drainage transported into rivers.The main purpose of this study was to... more
The environmental concern in mining areas is primarily related to physical disturbanceof the surrounding landscape, mine tailings spill, emitted dust and acid mine drainage transported into rivers.The main purpose of this study was to develop a visualisation model of spatial distribution using linear and nonlinear mathematical methods that combine a sparsechemical analysis and various geospatial parameters in the Bregalnica River Basin, Kriva Reka River Basin, and the area of the field Ovče Pole, Republic of Macedonia. Main problem of linear methods is that their concentrations depend only on distance. The most commonly used geostatistical prediction method is ordinary kriging that usea semivariance function.Various parameteres can influence the results what can lead to the wrong interpretation most common are Bull’s eye contours. In other side Artificial Neural Network – Multilayer Perceptron (ANN-MLP) improved much better results. ANN-MLP was used as nonlinear model for data proce...
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Application of several moss species (Hypnum cupressiforme, Homalothecium lutescens and Scleropodium purum) for monitoring of anthropogenic impact on heavy metals air pollution in Bregalnica River Basin, Republic of Macedonia, was studied.... more
Application of several moss species (Hypnum cupressiforme, Homalothecium lutescens and Scleropodium purum) for monitoring of anthropogenic impact on heavy metals air pollution in Bregalnica River Basin, Republic of Macedonia, was studied. Moss samples were review for their potential to reflect heavy metals air pollution. Potential “hot spots” were selected in areas of copper mine (Bučim mine) and lead and zinc mines (Zletovo mine and Sasa mine) as main metal pollution sources in the Eastern part of the Republic of Macedonia. Continuously, dust distribution from ore and flotation tailings occurs. This results with air-introduction and deposition of higher contents of certain metals. Determination of chemical elements was conducted by using both instrumental techniques: atomic emission spectrometry with inductively coupled plasma (ICP-AES) and mass spectrometry with inductively coupled plasma (ICP-MS). Combination of multivariate techniques (PCA, FA and CA) was applied for data proces...
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Determination of the geographical origin of food and beverages has been a growing issue over the past decade for all countries around the world, mostly because of the concern of consumers about the authenticity of the food that they eat.... more
Determination of the geographical origin of food and beverages has been a growing issue over the past decade for all countries around the world, mostly because of the concern of consumers about the authenticity of the food that they eat. An increasing number of research articles in the past years have investigated the elemental composition and the isotope ratios as indicators to determine the origin of food and beverages. The present investigation summarized the data for application of validated method including multi-element and multi-isotope chemical characterization and the statistical tools in order to be used for determination of the geographical origin of food and beverages. Comparative analysis (between samples collected from R. Macedonia vs. samples collected from P. R. China) were used for improving the large-scale application of the implemented proposed method. Inductively coupled plasma with mass spectrometry (quadropole based) was used for the isotopic measurements of th...
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The control of biogenic amines is becoming increasingly important to the consumers and also to wine producers because of the potential risk of toxicity and the negative impact on sales, trade and export of wine. Biogenic amines are... more
The control of biogenic amines is becoming increasingly important to the consumers and also to wine producers because of the potential risk of toxicity and the negative impact on sales, trade and export of wine. Biogenic amines are organic nitrogen compounds with low molecular weight which have different origin in the wine. They can be found in the must, can be formed by the yeast during the alcoholic and malolactic fermentation and during wine aging. In this project the content of the biogenic amines and aroma profile of the wine from Vranec variety will be analyzed, produced by addition of malolactic bacteria during different stages of vinification. The analysis of biogenic amines will be performed with liquid chromatography coupled with DAD and MS detector and gas chromatography coupled with ion trap MS and QQQ MS detector. In order to determine the effect of malolactic fermentation on the content of biogenic amines, as well as, on the aroma compounds in wines, malolactic bacteri...
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Environmental pollution with heavy metals is a global problem that concerns every part of the planet Earth. From this global environmental pollution framework doesn’t deviate neither Macedonia nor China. Many studies have been conducted... more
Environmental pollution with heavy metals is a global problem that concerns every part of the planet Earth. From this global environmental pollution framework doesn’t deviate neither Macedonia nor China. Many studies have been conducted in order to monitor the content of heavy metals in different parts of the biosphere of the two countries. The significantly worrying data were obtained in both cases; indicates the presence of higher content of heavy metals (Cd, Cu, Cr, Fe, Hg, Ni, Pb, Tl and Zn) in soils in Macedonia (Stafilov et al., 2014) and China (Wang et al., 2003). Furthermore, special importance is given on the bioavailability of heavy metals in soil and their bioaccumulation of different plant species used in the human dietary. Therefore, the main purpose of this project is, based on the predetermined data on contaminated areas to: 1) determine the bioavailability of heavy metals in soil 2) to determine their bioaccumulation in different types of plant foods that are planted...
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A graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS) was used for trace elements (Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn, Cd, Cr, Ni, Pb) determination in “Rakija” samples, a grape brandy traditionally produced in Republic of Macedonia by distillation of... more
A graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GFAAS) was used for trace elements (Cu, Fe, Mn, Zn, Cd, Cr, Ni, Pb) determination in “Rakija” samples, a grape brandy traditionally produced in Republic of Macedonia by distillation of grape pomace or wine for characterization. Principal component analysis was used to establish pattern recognition of the Macedonian brandies and classification depending of aging mode (oak barrels/oak chips) and distillation system (home-made/industrial). Two home-made brandies showed Cu, Fe and Zn concentrations higher than in the industrial distillates. These brandies were found to be not safe for consumption because of Cu and Zn over the maximum allowed values. For industrially produced brandies, Mn was identified to be a suitable marker related to aging with oak chips regardless variety, while Cu a marker for the influence of oak chips type.
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Food safety and quality are a major public concern worldwide, regarding the risk associated with consumption of food stuffs contaminated with heavy metals as toxins. Bioavailability of metals occurring in soil is the basic source of its... more
Food safety and quality are a major public concern worldwide, regarding the risk associated with consumption of food stuffs contaminated with heavy metals as toxins. Bioavailability of metals occurring in soil is the basic source of its accumulation in plant food. The impact of soil pollution (due to urban and mining areas) on the food chain presents a challenge for many investigations. Bioavailability of metals in a potentially polluted soil and their possible transfer and bioaccumulation in several vegetable species and herbs was examined. Microwave digestion was applied for total digestion of the plant tissues, while on the soil samples open wet digestion with a mixture of acids was applied. Three extraction methods were implemented for determination of bioavailable metals in the soil. Atomic emission spectrometry with inductively coupled plasma was used for determination of the total contents of 21 elements. Significant enrichments in agricultural soil for As, Pb and Zn (in urba...
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Research Interests: Environmental Science, Multivariate Statistics, Water quality, Environmental Chemistry, Surface Water, and 7 moreInductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry, CHEMICAL SCIENCES, Enrichment factor, Inductively Coupled Plasma, Water Quality, Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectroscopy, and Other Agricultural Sciences
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Trace elements may be absorbed on the moss from the atmosphere either as soluble chemical species in wet deposition or contained in particles from dry deposition. Part of the trace element content of particulates may eventually be... more
Trace elements may be absorbed on the moss from the atmosphere either as soluble chemical species in wet deposition or contained in particles from dry deposition. Part of the trace element content of particulates may eventually be released by weathering and reabsorbed by the moss. Whereas uptake efficiencies for particulate-bound trace elements are generally poorly known, Ions may be subject to active uptake into cells or attached on the moss surface by physical and chemical forces. Main problem with issue moss-biomonitoring are reveal as: a) transport of soluble compounds from the soil into moss tissue, particularly during periods with excessive soil/water contact. Although mosses do not have a root system, influence from this source cannot be disregarded, in particular in areas with low atmospheric deposition and b) windblown mineral dust from local soil. As far as the surface bound fraction is concerned, little is known about the binding mechanisms, but the fact that different me...
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Mosses have been used for biomonitoring in a number of different ways which may lead to rather different results, and some kind of classification seems necessary at this point. Epigeic mosses (growing on the ground) are preferred in the... more
Mosses have been used for biomonitoring in a number of different ways which may lead to rather different results, and some kind of classification seems necessary at this point. Epigeic mosses (growing on the ground) are preferred in the regional surveys in Europe. Trace elements may be absorbed on the moss from the atmosphere either as soluble chemical species in wet deposition or contained in particles from dry deposition. Part of the trace element content of particulates may eventually be released by weathering and reabsorbed by the moss. Whereas uptake efficiencies for particulate-bound trace elements are generally poorly known, Ions may be subject to active uptake into cells or attached on the moss surface by physical and chemical forces. Methods are available to distinguish between intracellular and surface-bound fractions of elements. Main problem with issue moss-biomonitoring are reveal as: a) transport of soluble compounds from the soil into moss tissue, particularly during ...
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Mosses have been used for biomonitoring in a number of different ways which may lead to rather different results, and some kind of classification seems necessary at this point. Epigeic mosses (growing on the ground) are preferred in the... more
Mosses have been used for biomonitoring in a number of different ways which may lead to rather different results, and some kind of classification seems necessary at this point. Epigeic mosses (growing on the ground) are preferred in the regional surveys in Europe. Trace elements may be absorbed on the moss from the atmosphere either as soluble chemical species in wet deposition or contained in particles from dry deposition. Part of the trace element content of particulates may eventually be released by weathering and reabsorbed by the moss. Whereas uptake efficiencies for particulate-bound trace elements are generally poorly known, Ions may be subject to active uptake into cells or attached on the moss surface by physical and chemical forces. Methods are available to distinguish between intracellular and surface-bound fractions of elements. Main problem with issue moss-biomonitoring are reveal as: a) transport of soluble compounds from the soil into moss tissue, particularly during ...
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Chemical characterization of food and beverages include analysis of the properties of foods and their constituents. In the last decated, the consumer demands for safety food, wine and alcoholic beverages are increased. Production of... more
Chemical characterization of food and beverages include analysis of the properties of foods and their constituents. In the last decated, the consumer demands for safety food, wine and alcoholic beverages are increased. Production of safety food, wine and spirits, as well as their control during the production is one of the policies of R. Macedonia and European Union. The high quality criteria for export on the EU markets results with need for implementation of up to date methods for laboratory control of various contaminants which have negative impact on the human health. In this project proposal, various food and alcoholic samples will be analyzed, including “rakija”, wine, fruits and vegetables. Brandies will be produced in home and industrial conditions, while wines will be produced in a winery, but also commercial samples will be provided. Chemical characterization of the samples will include determination of toxic metal and bioactive compounds, such as organic acids, carbohydra...
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The content of the following isotopes of the 36 elements (Li7, Be9, B11, Na23,Mg24, Al27, P31, Ca39, Ti48, V51, Cr53, Mn55, Fe56, Co59, Ni60, Cu63, Zn64, Ga71, Ge74, As75, Se77, Rb85, Sr88, Mo95, Pd106, Ag107, Cd111, In115, Sn120, Sb121,... more
The content of the following isotopes of the 36 elements (Li7, Be9, B11, Na23,Mg24, Al27, P31, Ca39, Ti48, V51, Cr53, Mn55, Fe56, Co59, Ni60, Cu63, Zn64, Ga71, Ge74, As75, Se77, Rb85, Sr88, Mo95, Pd106, Ag107, Cd111, In115, Sn120, Sb121, Cs133, Ba137, Tl205,Pb206/207/208 and Bi209) in edible oils produced from twelve sunflower varieties from Republic of Macedonia were determined, using inductively-coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) after microwave digestion, employing nitric acid and hydrogen peroxide in this step. The method has been validated using both an oil reference material and recovery experiments over different oil samples, obtaining satisfactory results in both cases. Interday repeatability lower than 10% was observed for all of the analyzed elements in the analyzed oil samples. Studying the multi-elements content, in order to detect tendencies in the oil samples between varieties, principal components analysis was used. Promising groupings were observed using a mod...
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Atmospheric deposition poses significant ecological concerns. In this work attic dust was examined as historical archive of anthropogenic emissions, with the aim of elucidating the pathways of enrichments associated with exploitation of... more
Atmospheric deposition poses significant ecological concerns. In this work attic dust was examined as historical archive of anthropogenic emissions, with the aim of elucidating the pathways of enrichments associated with exploitation of Cu, Pb and Zn minerals in the Bregalnica river basin region. Attic dust samples were collected from 84 settlements. At each location for attic dust sampling, topsoil samples from the house yards were also collected. Mass spectrometry with inductively coupled plasma (ICP-MS) was applied as analytical technique for determination of Ag, Bi, Cd, Cu, In, Mn, Pb, Sb, Te, W and Zn. The Universal Kriging method with linear variogram interpolation was applied for the construction of spatial distribution maps. This geochemical association links typical elements which are normally associated with air pollution (Cd-Pb-Zn), and usually are not influenced by lithological background. This investigation fortifies an extended anthropogenic association (Ag, Bi, In and...
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Several plant species (R. acetosa, S. oleracea, U. dioica, А. Sativum, A. cepa and P. hortense) were studied to determine macro and trace elements content trends and their bioavailable forms. The total contents of 21 elements: (1) macro... more
Several plant species (R. acetosa, S. oleracea, U. dioica, А. Sativum, A. cepa and P. hortense) were studied to determine macro and trace elements content trends and their bioavailable forms. The total contents of 21 elements: (1) macro biogenic elements (Ca, K, Na, Mg, and P), (2) elements that have the essential functionality in microcontents (Ba, Cr, Li, Cu, Fe, Mo, Mn, Sr and Zn), and elements that are toxic even in traces (Ag, Al, As, Cd, Ni, Pb and V) were determined with the application of atomic emission spectrometry with inductively coupled plasma (ICP-AES). The total concentrations were measured in samples after total mineralization with concentrated nitric acid and hydrogen peroxide in a microwave digestion system. Three extraction methods were implemented for determination of bioavailable contents in the soil: (1) Extraction with deionized H2O that provides information on the actual availability of the elements in the soil solution; (2) Extraction with 0.1 M HCl. (3) Ext...
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Goji berries or wolfberries (Lycium barbarum L.) have been traditionally used as food and a medicinal plant. The interest in the chemical composition of goji berries has intensified because of an increased awareness of their possible... more
Goji berries or wolfberries (Lycium barbarum L.) have been traditionally used as food and a medicinal plant. The interest in the chemical composition of goji berries has intensified because of an increased awareness of their possible health benefits. On the other hand, the toxic elements can also be interacting in the plant tissue through the bioavailable pathway of the root-soil system. The present work reports the results obtained by the proposed method for the simultaneous determination of metals (Na, Mg, K, Ca, Mn, Fe, Cu and Zn) and nonmetals (P and S) in goji berries by using inductively coupled plasma–optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES), following digestion using a diluted oxidant mixture in a closed-vessel microwave oven. Determinations of Cr, As, Pb, Cd and Ni were realized using the graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometer (GFAAS). Mercury quantification was realized on the solid samples by the TDAAS method, with the automated direct mercury analyzer hydra-C. Th...
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Lead isotope measurements can provide useful information for routine means of “fingerprinting” the components grown in different habitats. If lead is present in the soil, a plant will take up small amounts and subsequent isotope ratio... more
Lead isotope measurements can provide useful information for routine means of “fingerprinting” the components grown in different habitats. If lead is present in the soil, a plant will take up small amounts and subsequent isotope ratio studies might provide unique means of differentiating between different plant sources of origin. Studies of the isotopic composition of lead are therefore commonly used in the environmental science as well as geological and anthropological studies. Among all the naturally occurring lead isotopes, only 204Pb is non-radiogenic, whereas, 206Pb, 207Pb and 208Pb are the daughter products from the radioactive decay of 238U and 235U and 232Th, respectively. As a consequence, small Pb isotope abundance variation occurs in nature and the isotopic composition of lead in the environment is dependent on local pollution sources. Being able to accurately measure all of the Pb isotopes is important for a number of investigations. Quadropole inductively coupled plasma...
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Heavy metal pollution is a major problem concerning the quality of the environment. Heavy metals in the environment are derived from natural components or geological sources as well as from human activities or anthropogenic sources.... more
Heavy metal pollution is a major problem concerning the quality of the environment. Heavy metals in the environment are derived from natural components or geological sources as well as from human activities or anthropogenic sources. Environmental pollution with heavy metals is a global problem that concerns every part of the planet Earth. The significantly worrying data were obtained, indicates the presence of higher content of heavy metals (Cd, Cu, Cr, Fe, Ni, Pb, Tl and Zn) in soils in Republic of Macedonia [1]. When heavy metals entering the food chain, causes serious consequences and health disorders at human population. Notably, for any healthy society is a healthy human population and controlling the food quality is one of the most significant challenges as a part of the environmental protection. Since food contamination is one of the major routes for entry of metals into the humans and animals, monitoring the bioavailable pools of metals in contaminated different plant foods ...
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Atmospheric dust emissions can be threat for the environmental and human health. Long-term emission occurs in this area due to the Pb-Zn hydrothermal exploitation (Sasa and Zletovo mines) and copper ore exploitation and flotation (Bučim... more
Atmospheric dust emissions can be threat for the environmental and human health. Long-term emission occurs in this area due to the Pb-Zn hydrothermal exploitation (Sasa and Zletovo mines) and copper ore exploitation and flotation (Bučim mine), in the area of Bregalnica river basin. The present study propose a combined model based on: bioindication with moss species (Hypnum cupressiforme and Homolothecium lutescens), and universal kriging mapping for determination of arsenic distribution. For that purpose, 149 moss samples were collected from the area, and both moss species were used interchangeably. At the same sampling points, soil samples from the surface layer were also collected. Mass spectrometry with inductively coupled plasma (ICP-MS) was used for determination of total arsenic content in moss and soil samples. Prior to analysis, the samples were totally digested with the application of microwave system for samples digestion for moss samples and open wet digestion was used fo...
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Attic dusts were examined as historical archives of anthropogenic emissions, with the aim of elucidating the pathways of pollution associated with a hydrothermal exploitation of Cu, Pb and Zn minerals in the eastern part of the Republic... more
Attic dusts were examined as historical archives of anthropogenic emissions, with the aim of elucidating the pathways of pollution associated with a hydrothermal exploitation of Cu, Pb and Zn minerals in the eastern part of the Republic of Macedonia, the Bregalnica river basin region. Samples were collected from 84 settlements. Atomic emission spectrometry and mass spectrometry with inductively coupled plasma were applied as analytical techniques for determination of the Cd, Pb and Zn content in attic dust and soil samples. The anthropogenic affects on the air pollution was marked with dominance of these elements contents. Fifth factor was also determined as lithogenic marker for the occurrence of the very old Rifeous shales. These elements distribution also presents a very unique association that despite the heterogenisity, relays on natural phenomena of tracking the deposition in areas of Proterosoic gneisses; related to the distribution of fine particles associated with carbonate...
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Bioavailability of metals occurring in soil is the basic source of its accumulation in plant food. The impact of soil pollution (due to urban and mining areas) on the food chain presents a challenge for many investigations.... more
Bioavailability of metals occurring in soil is the basic source of its accumulation in plant food. The impact of soil pollution (due to urban and mining areas) on the food chain presents a challenge for many investigations. Bioavailability of metals in a potentially polluted soil and their possible transfer and bioaccumulation in several vegetable species and herbs was examined. Three extraction methods were implemented for determination of bioavailable metals in the soil. Microwave digestion was applied for total digestion of the plant tissues, while on the soil samples open wet digestion with a mixture of acids was applied. Atomic emission spectrometry with inductively coupled plasma was used for determination of total elements contents. Significant enrichments in agricultural soil for As, Pb and Zn (in urban area), Cd, Cu and Ni (in a copper mine area), compared with the respective values from European standards were detected. On the basis of three different extraction methods, h...
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Application of several moss species and attic dust for monitoring of anthropogenic impact on heavy metals air pollution in Bregalnica River Basin, Republic of Macedonia, was studied. Moss samples were reviewed for their potential to... more
Application of several moss species and attic dust for monitoring of anthropogenic impact on heavy metals air pollution in Bregalnica River Basin, Republic of Macedonia, was studied. Moss samples were reviewed for their potential to reflect heavy metals air pollution. The attention was focused on their quantification ability, underlying the metal accumulation within moss plant tissue and attic dust “historical archiving”. Potential “hot spots” were selected in areas of copper mine (Bucim mine) and lead and zinc mines (Zletovo mine and Sasa mine) as main metal pollution sources in the Eastern part of the Republic of Macedonia. Continuously, dust distribution from ore and flotation tailings occurs. This results with air-introduction and deposition of higher contents of certain metals. Several moss species (Hypnum cupressiforme, Homalothecium lutescens and Scleropodium purum) were used as plant sampling media. Determination of chemical elements was conducted by using both instrumental ...
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A b s t r a c t: The distribution of lead, which in higher content represents hazard to the environment, causes certain unwanted consequences on human health. Therefore, the environmental monitoring not only for the lithogenic but also... more
A b s t r a c t: The distribution of lead, which in higher content represents hazard to the environment, causes certain unwanted consequences on human health. Therefore, the environmental monitoring not only for the lithogenic but also for the anthropogenic distribution leads to determination of the main hot spots in the environment. Bregalnica river basin in the Republic of Macedonia was selected as a study area with the presence of three potential emission sources: lead and zinc mines (“Zletovo” and “Sasa” mines) and copper mine (Bucim mine). The lead contents in alluvial and automorphic soil range from 4.4 to 46000 mg kg -1 . The most enriched subarea with lead in the Bregalnica river basin is the Zletovo–Kamenica region. The average Pb content in these subareas is 3100 mg kg –1 . Despite the anthropogenic activities in the above mentioned mines, enriched Pb deposition in soil is mainly correlated with the dominant geological formations, such as Neogene pyroclastites and vulcanit...
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Moss and lichen species and attic dust samples were used for monitoring distribution of heavy metals and other trace elements in the vicinity of intensively exploited copper mine. Hypnum cupressiforme, Campothecium lutescens and... more
Moss and lichen species and attic dust samples were used for monitoring distribution of heavy metals and other trace elements in the vicinity of intensively exploited copper mine. Hypnum cupressiforme, Campothecium lutescens and Homolothecium sericium were collected as characteristic moss species and Hypogymnia physodes, Pseudevernia furfuracea and Evernia prunastri were collected as characteristic lichens species for comparative analysis [1, 2]. Attic dust samples were collected from the same region in order of historical record for metals distribution [3]. The analysis of 17 elements (Al, Ba, Ca, Co, Cr, Cu, Li, Fe, K, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, Pb, Sr, V and Zn) was performed by atomic emission spectrometry with inductively coupled plasma (ICP-AES). As and Cd were analyzed by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS). The comparative analysis between elements content from mosses and lichens showed: (a) collected species were very tolerant to high content of Cu, Pb, Fe (>0.01%...
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Lichen species (Hypogymnia physodes and Evernia prunastri) were used for biomonitoring the possible air pollution with heavy metals in the vicinity of copper mine in the eastern part of the Republic of Macedonia. The contents of 18... more
Lichen species (Hypogymnia physodes and Evernia prunastri) were used for biomonitoring the possible air pollution with heavy metals in the vicinity of copper mine in the eastern part of the Republic of Macedonia. The contents of 18 elements were analysed by ICP-AES and ETAAS techniques. For data processing basic statistical methods and multivariate exploratory (factor and cluster analysis) techniques were applied. Three geogenic and one anthropogenic group of elements were singled out from factor analysis. Maps of spatial distribution of elements from the anthropogenic group showed an increased content of the anthropogenic elements only in close vicinity to the mine. A maximum value obtained for Cu content was 130 mg/kg and for Pb content was 120 mg/kg. Lichen talus of the collected species showed high retention power for accumulation of the anthropogenic group of elements compared to moss species sampled from the same study area (r=0.86 and r=0.68). Here we show that lichens can be...
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The present study gives an overview of the rare earth elements (REEs) distribution in automorphic and alluvial soil (top and sub soil sample) in the Bregalnica river environ. The elements contents were determined using inductively coupled... more
The present study gives an overview of the rare earth elements (REEs) distribution in automorphic and alluvial soil (top and sub soil sample) in the Bregalnica river environ. The elements contents were determined using inductively coupled plasma with mass spectrometry. The total sum of the light rare earth elements (ΣLREEs) in the whole investigated area ranges from 8.6-225 mg kg-1, while the total sum of the heavy rare earth elements (ΣHREEs) ranges from 0.92-33.7 mg kg-1. The distribution of the LREEs (La-Ce-Pr-Nd-Sm-Gd) is predominantly related to the Quaternary terraces and the Paleogene flysch. The anthropogenic activities that occur in the Pb-Zn surroundings and the Cu mineralization in the investigated area significantly influence the lithological distribution of this geochemical association of elements. On the other hand, the long-term deposition of the HREEs (Eu-Tb-Dy-Ho-Er-Tm-Yb-Lu) presents a typical geochemical marker of the area of the Bregalnica river basin.
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Bioavailability of metals occurring in soil is the basic source of its accumulation in vegetables and herbs. The impact of soil pollution (due to urban and mining areas) on the food chain presents a challenge for many investigations.... more
Bioavailability of metals occurring in soil is the basic source of its accumulation in vegetables and herbs. The impact of soil pollution (due to urban and mining areas) on the food chain presents a challenge for many investigations. Availability of metals in a potentially polluted soil and their possible transfer and bioaccumulation in sorrel (Rumex acetosa), spinach (Spinacia oleracea) and common nettle (Urtica dioica), were examined. Microwave digestion was applied for total digestion of the plant tissues, while on the soil samples open wet digestion with a mixture of acids was applied. Three extraction methods were implemented for the bioavailable metals in the soil. Atomic emission spectrometry with inductively coupled plasma was used for determination of the total contents of 21 elements. Significant enrichments in agricultural soil for As, Pb and Zn (in urban area), Cd, Cu and Ni (in a copper mine area), compared with the respective values from European standards were detecte...
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The purpose of this study was to establish the atmospheric deposition of various elements in the Kavadarci region, Republic of Macedonia (known for its ferronickel mining and metallurgical activities) using moss biomonitoring, and to... more
The purpose of this study was to establish the atmospheric deposition of various elements in the Kavadarci region, Republic of Macedonia (known for its ferronickel mining and metallurgical activities) using moss biomonitoring, and to determine whether the deposition is anthropogenic or from geogenic influences. The sampling network includes 31 moss samples evenly distributed over a territory of about 600 km(2). A total of 46 elements (Ag, Al, As, Au, Ba, Be, Ca, Cd, Ce, Co, Cr, Cs, Cu, Dy, Er, Eu, Fe, Ga, Gd, Ge, Hg, Ho, K, La, Li, Lu, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Nb, Ni, P, Pb, Rb, Sb, Sm, Sr, Tb, Th, Ti, U, V, Yb, Zn, Zr) were determined by mass spectrometry with inductively coupled plasma (ICP-MS). Based on a distribution pattern of elements determined in moss, two anthropogenic geochemical associations (Co-Cr-Cu-Fe-Mg-Ni and As-Cd-Cu-Hg-Pb-Zn), were detected. The distribution of these elements shows an increased content (especially Ni, Co and Cr) in the moss samples from the surroundings of the smelter plant compared to the rest of the samples. Thus, the median value of Ni in moss samples from the whole region (40 mg kg(-1)) is much higher than the median for Macedonia (5.82 mg kg(-1)). Moreover, the median content of Ni in the moss samples from the polluted area (around the smelter) is 178 mg kg(-1) with an enrichment ratio in the moss samples of almost 5.5 times higher than the unpolluted areas (32 mg kg(-1)). This fact confirms the influence of the dust from the ferronickel plant to the air pollution in this region.