A BIOMONITORING INVESTIGATION OF AN OIL REFINERY IN HUNGARY BASED ON MOSSES

In this study two moss species ( Tortula ruralis and Fontinalis antipyretica ) were used to indicate the relative levels of air and water pollution by ten heavy metals: Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, V, Zn, Al, Fe and Pb at the territory of an oil refinery near to river Danube in Hungary. A period of one-month-long was studied in the summer of 2007. The elemental content of samples was determined by ICP-MS. Air pollution load of many heavy metals may originate from windswept soil dust or air depositing aerosols. The water biomonitoring did not indicate the increasing elemental load by the oil refinery.