Comparative studies of metal air pollution by atomic spectrometry techniques and biomonitoring with moss and lichens.

Our study was dedicated to the analysis of air pollution level with metals in Dambovita County, Romania; maps of the concentration distributions for air pollutants were drawn; statistical analysis includes calculation of the background concentrations and the contamination factors. The highest values of the contamination factor CF is 63.1 ± 6.63 for mosses samples and 33.12 ± 3.96 for lichens and it indicates extreme contaminations in the surroundings of steel works and an electric plant. The comparison of the distribution maps for Cr, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb and Zn concentrations enables the identification of the pollution sources, the limits of areas with very high levels of pollution, the comparison of the concentration gradients in some areas and the influence of woodlands on the spread of pollutants through the air.