Formaldehyde exposure and atmospheric biomonitoring with lichen Cladonia verticillaris in an anatomy laboratory

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 universities and in general working environments (Motyka et al [ 18 ]; Demková et al [ 19 ]; Ciani et al [ 9 ]; da Silva et al [ 20 ]);…”

“…Twenty-one papers considered the content of major/trace elements in mosses/lichens ( Table 2 ): some of them focused on a specific pollutant, such as Hg [ 9 ] or Pb [ 21 ], the latter much more relevant in the past than nowadays. Seven papers reported an assessment of the vitality of the biomonitor [ 13 , 14 , 17 , 20 , 26 , 27 , 28 ]. None of the indoor studies afforded, hitherto, the question whether lichens and mosses can actively contribute to purifying indoor air quality.…”

“…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 study by da Silva et al [ 20 ] focused on formaldehyde (CHOH), a toxic contaminant of indoor environments commonly used in the anatomy laboratory. The authors assessed the level of formaldehyde exposure to staff and students who attended a university anatomy lab and nearby indoor environments (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil).…”