Modeling exposure to airborne metals using moss biomonitoring in cemeteries in two urban areas around Paris and Lyon in France. (15th June 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Lequy, Emeline; Meyer, Caroline; Vienneau, Danielle; Berr, Claudine; Goldberg, Marcel; Zins, Marie; Leblond, Sébastien; de Hoogh, Kees; Jacquemin, Bénédicte
• Is Part Of: Environmental pollution. Volume 303(2022)
• Publication Date: 2022-06-15
• Subjects: Air pollution -- Moss biomonitoring -- Cadmium -- Lead -- Concentration map -- Land-use regression; Pollution -- Periodicals; Pollution -- Environmental aspects -- Periodicals; Environmental Pollution -- Periodicals; Pollution -- Périodiques; Pollution -- Aspect de l'environnement -- Périodiques; Pollution -- Effets physiologiques -- Périodiques; Pollution; Pollution -- Environmental aspects; Periodicals; Electronic journals; 363.73
• DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2022.119097
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0269-7491

Abstract

Abstract: Exposure of the general population to airborne metals remains poorly estimated despite the potential health risks. Passive moss biomonitoring can proxy air quality at fine resolution over large areas, mainly in rural areas. We adapted the technique to urban areas to develop fine concentration maps for several metals for Constances cohort's participants. We sampled Grimmia pulvinata in 77 and 51 cemeteries within ∼50 km of Paris and Lyon city centers, respectively. We developed land-use regression models for 14 metals including cadmium, lead, and antimony; potential predictors included the amount of urban, agricultural, forest, and water around cemeteries, population density, altitude, and distance to major roads. We used both kriging with external drift and land use regression followed by residual kriging when necessary to derive concentration maps (500 × 500 m) for each metal and region. Both approaches led to similar results. The most frequent predictors were the amount of urban, agricultural, or forest areas. Depending on the metal, the models explained part of the spatial variability, from 6% for vanadium in Lyon to 84% for antimony in Paris, but mostly between 20% and 60%, with better results for metals emitted by human activities. Moss biomonitoring in cemeteries proves efficient for obtaining airborne metal exposures in urban areas for the most common metals. Graphical abstract: Image 1 Highlights: Airborne metal measures remain scarce to derive exposure for large urban populations. We measured metals in mosses to derive exposure maps in two large French cities. We applied land use regression modeling and obtained maps for 13 metals. Models were satisfactory and robust particularly for cadmium and antimony.