Study of Airborne Trace Element Pollution in Central and Southern Vietnam Using Moss (Barbula indica) Technique and Neutron Activation Analysis

Atmospheric deposition of trace elements in three cities of Vietnam including Hue, Hoi An and Ho Chi Minh in Central and South of Vietnam has been studied in this work by moss technique. Thirty samples of the local moss Barbula indica were collected in these cities and the concentrations of thirty heavy elements were determined by neutron activation analysis at the reactor IBR-2 of the Frank Laboratory of Neutron Physics of the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research located in Dubna, Russia. Concentrations of thirty elements were determined in each sample. Factor analysis has been applied to the concentration data and five main factors, which characterized five possible sources of the air pollution affecting the investigated areas have been identified. The correspondence between the research results and the reality of the air pollution in the studied sites has proved high possibility of the method for studying air pollution in Vietnam.