ASSESSMENT OF POTENTIALLY TOXIC ELEMENTS DEPOSITION IN HUNG YEN AND BAC NINH PROVINCES (VIETNAM) USING MOSS BARBULA INDICA BIOMONITORING TECHNIQUE

Air pollution with potentially harmful elements in two industrial provinces in the Red River Delta, northern Vietnam, was studied using Barbula indica moss. The content of 12 elements including Al, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, Hg and Pb in the moss samples collected at 36 different locations in the Bac Ninh and Hung Yen was identified by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy and direct mercury analyzer. The mean concentrations of Al, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, Hg, and Pb in the moss samples were 5042, 12.0, 27.0, 222, 4899, 2.6, 11, 90, 537, 0.9, 0.17, and 52 mg/kg, respectively. The contamination factors of the 12 analyzed elements ranged from 2.08 to 11.19, indicating pollution levels from suspected contamination to very severe pollution. Aluminum, chromium, manganese, copper, zinc, and lead exhibited very high levels of contamination. Vanadium, iron, and cobalt were found to be moderately polluted, while cadmium and mercury showed slight contamination. Finally, the air in the surveyed areas showed signs of pollution with nickel. Factor analysis was applied to identify the potential emission sources of these elements into the atmosphere. The results indicated that traffic, industrial activities, coal combustion, and urban dust were the primary contributors to the observed elemental emissions.