Contribution of short irradiation instrumental neutron activation analysis to assess air pollution at indoor and outdoor environments using transplanted lichens

Spatial Distribution of Air Pollution, Hotspots and Sources in an Urban-Industrial Area in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, Portugal—A Biomonitoring Approach

“…In fact, since lichens have no roots, they are dependent on the atmosphere for the uptake of water and mineral substances [17]. Lichens are extensively used in biomonitoring studies [13,[18][19][20][21][22] and for spatial mapping of air contaminants [14,23,24], allowing the identification of pollution hotspots.…”

Lichens and Mosses as Biomonitors of Indoor Pollution

“…Among the reviewed literature, the main research topics can be summarised as follows: IAQ in schools (Canha et al [ 13 , 14 , 15 ]; Protano et al [ 16 ]; Paoli et al [ 17 ])—considering the most sensitive category (children) to indoor pollution, as well as the long time spent by children in indoor environments (at home or at school); IAQ in universities and in general working environments (Motyka et al [ 18 ]; Demková et al [ 19 ]; Ciani et al [ 9 ]; da Silva et al [ 20 ]); IAQ in houses/private environments (Al-Radady et al [ 21 ]; Rajfur et al [ 22 ]; Capozzi et al [ 23 ]; Sorrentino et al [ 24 ]; Paoli et al [ 17 ]; Zechmeister et al [ 8 ]); Problems related to traffic pollution, such as indoor contamination in parking garages (Vuković et al [ 10 ]; Demková et al [ 25 ]), tunnels (Zechmeister et al [ 11 ]), car cabins (Paoli et al [ 26 ]), and car workshops (Świsłowski et al [ 27 ]); IAQ associated with cigarette smoke (Rajfur et al [ 22 ]; Paoli et al [ 26 ]); IAQ in a shooting range (Sujetovienė and Česynaitė [ 28 ]); Methodological aspects related to the monitoring devices (Al-Radady et al [ 29 ]) or to the devitalisation of the samples (Motyka et al [ 18 ]); Protection of cultural heritage (Winkler et al [ 30 ]). …”

“…IAQ in schools (Canha et al [ 13 , 14 , 15 ]; Protano et al [ 16 ]; Paoli et al [ 17 ])—considering the most sensitive category (children) to indoor pollution, as well as the long time spent by children in indoor environments (at home or at school);…”

“…With the exception of the study by da Silva et al [ 20 ] (in Brasil), the studies were carried out in Europe: mostly in Portugal [ 13 , 14 , 15 ], Central Europe [ 11 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 22 , 25 , 27 ], and Italy [ 9 , 16 , 23 , 24 , 26 , 30 ].…”

“…The work by Canha et al [ 15 ] consists of the assessment of the samples from previous studies with an instrumental neutron activation analysis using short irradiation (allowing the characterisation of Al, Cl, K, Mn, and V profiles). The results confirmed the resuspension of settled dust as a source for the concentrations recorded in F. caperata and according to the site and identified the contribution of sea salt spray and industrial pollution as further outdoor sources for indoor depositions.…”