Biomonitoring of antimony in environmental matrices from terrestrial and limnic ecosystems

Elder and poplar leaves from various sampling sites were studied with respe ct to their antimony content. Moreover, a retrospective determination of Sb was performed in representative limnic and terrestrial samples of the Fede ral Enviromnental Specimen Bank of Germany which have been collected over 1 4 years. The analytical procedure is based on an open vessel acid digestion of freeze-dried biological samples and the subsequent quantification of Sb in the digests by flow injection hydride generation atomic absorption spec trometry. Strict quality control schemes were applied to the entire procedu re to guarantee accurate and precise results. No long-term changes of the S b concentrations were found in spruce shoots or poplar leaves from differen t sampling sites. However, spruce shoots from a semi-natural region showed concentrations of Sb (similar to 22 ng g(-1); range: 17-29 ng g(-1)) that w ere approximately four times lower than in corresponding samples from an ur ban-industrialized area. The analysis of virgin and washed elder leaves rev ealed that approximately 20-30% of the Sb is present on the leaf surface. S b levels in elder leaves ranged from 5.2 +/- 0.3 ng g(-1) in samples from A rgentina to 589 +/- 30 ng g(-1) in leaves collected directly beside a motor way in Germany. Similarly, poplar leaves from Argentina and Chile showed ab out 4 ng Sb g(-1) whereas 150 ng Sb g(-1) was found in poplar leaves from G ermany. The lowest concentrations of Sb were determined in digests of pigeo n eggs (similar to 2 ng g(-1)), bream liver (similar to 4 ng g(-1)) and dee r liver (similar to 6 ng g(-1)). A similar pattern of Sb concentrations in spruce shoots, leaves or liver samples from an industrialized area and an a grarian ecosystem in Germany was established. Concentrations of Sb in elder leaves were closely associated with car traffic, giving maximum concentrat ions of 589 ng g(-1) directly beside a motorway, 207 ng g(-1) 50 m from the motorway and 153 ng g(-1) in a dose residential area.