Lead Isotopes in Lichen Transplants around a Cu Smelter in Russia Determined by MC-ICP-MS Reveal Transient Records of Multiple Sources

Abstract

Transplants of the lichen Hypogymnia physodes, which is relatively tolerant to SO2 and heavy metals, were deployed for 3 months over a 60 km long SW-NE transect centered on a highly polluting Cu smelter and its adjoining town of Karabash, southern Urals, Russia. The abundance of 206Pb, 207Pb, 208Pb, and 204Pb were determined by MC-ICP-MS. The measurement of 204Pb revealed critical features, which would otherwise remain concealed: (i) The precise isotope ratios referenced to 204Pb allowed several different sources to be resolved even within the small area covered: (a) the obvious pollutant source of the Karabash Cu smelter; (b) two dispersed sources, likely to include soil with lower and different contributions of thorogenic and uranogenic lead; and (c) one anthropogenic source with higher contribution of 235U derived Pb. (ii) In part of the transect, the Pb isotope composition changed while the Pb concentrations remained the same. This indicates that the Pb content of the transplantation material from the background site was largely replaced and that the transplants provide a transient record reflecting a continuous accumulation and loss of environmental Pb, probably mainly in the form of extracellular particles. Overall, the method of lichen transplantation coupled with Pb isotope ratio determinations proved effective in assessing the usefulness of lichens in biomonitoring and in resolving different sources of atmospheric deposition.

The lichen transplant methodology in the source apportionment of metal deposition around a copper smelter in the former mining town of Karabash, Russia

“…6) already contained a component from both the blast furnace and converter and that over the 2 or 3 month transplantation experiment there is a net loss of smelter-derived components. This strengthens, and broadens the finding of Spiro et al (2004), using Pb isotopes for the same lichen material, that over the sampling period the Pb-containing components in the transplants from the control site were replaced. Lichen transplants may therefore provide a transient record reflecting a continuous gain and loss of environmental Pb, as well as other mining-related metals.…”

“…This study is an extension of work on the same sample set by Purvis et al (2004Purvis et al ( , 2006 and Spiro et al (2004). However emphasis is placed on identifying and apportioning the main sources of elements in the transplants, indicative of miningrelated activities.…”

Lichens Used as Monitors of Atmospheric Pollution Around Agadir (Southwestern Morocco)—A Case Study Predating Lead-Free Gasoline

“…Lead isotopes can enhance the quality of information deduced from biomonitoring. Lead isotopic abundances in geogenic materials and in anthropogenic emissions are often very different (see Komárek et al 2008 for a complete review) allowing the sources and pathways of metal pollution to be more clearly identified (Carignan and Gariépy 1995;Monna et al 1999;Getty et al 1999;Doucet and Carignan 2001;Carignan et al 2002;Simonetti et al 2003;Watmough and Hutchinson 2004;Spiro et al 2004;Cloquet et al 2006;Farmer et al 2010). …”

C. Tote*, S. Delalieux, M. Goossens, B.J. Williamson, and E. Swinnen. 2014. “Monitoring Environmental Health Using SPOT-VEGETATION-Derived and Field-Measured Spectral Indices in Karabash, Russia.” International Journal of Remote Sensing 35 (7): 2516–2533. doi:10.1080/01431161.2014.883103

“…However, from a political and sociological perspective, large-scale closure of operations is currently impossible as mining industries are major employers underpinning the economy of the region. There have been several studies on the nature and environmental effects of atmospheric pollution in and around Karabash (Voskresensky 2002;Spiro et al 2004;Williamson, Mikhailova, et al 2008;Williamson et al 2008). Lichens were found to contain particulate from the smelter for a distance of up to 30 km.…”