M. Lodovici et al., POLYNUCLEAR AROMATIC-HYDROCARBONS IN THE LEAVES OF THE EVERGREEN TREELAURUS-NOBILIS, Science of the total environment, 153(1-2), 1994, pp. 61-68
The levels of 10 polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), phenanthren
e, fluorene, pyrene, benzo[a]anthracene, chrysene, benzo[b]fluoranthen
e, benzo[k]fluoranthene, benzo[a]pyrene, dibenzo[a,h]anthracene and be
nzo[g,h,i]perylene, were determined in the leaves of the bay evergreen
tree (Laurus nobilis) taken from 15 different sites in the Valley of
Florence. The measurements were repeated for three different seasons (
summer, autumn, winter). The concentration of all PAHs increased durin
g the year with maximum levels occurring during the winter. The elemen
tal analysis of the leaves (K, Si, P, S, Ca, Pb, Br, Mn, Fe, Sr, Zn, C
u) showed a good correlation between PAHs and lead or bromine levels,
indicating that the main source of PAHs deposited on the leaves was ve
hicular traffic. The levels of PAHs on the leaves were also well corre
lated with air levels at two different sites.