R. Idegawa et al., Local analysis of trace elements and lead isotope ratios in bark and bark pockets by laser ablation/ICP-MS, BUNSEKI KAG, 50(6), 2001, pp. 441-446
Recently, environmental pollution has become one of the most serious proble
ms for human life. It has become very important to consider and evaluate en
vironmental pollution from longterm perspectives. The bark and bark pockets
of trees were used in this study, because these samples are influenced by
air pollutants and can be used as an indicator of environmental pollution.
Because the bark pocket samples were very small, the conventional sample di
gestion procedures could not be applied. Therefore, laser ablation/inslucti
vely coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA/ICP-MS) was used for the determin
ation from major to trace elements in bark and bark pocket samples in this
study. From the result, it was found that the concentrations of hazardous e
lements, such as Sb, Pb, and Se, in bark were from a few to 100-fold higher
compared to those in bark pocket produced 140 years ago. Moreover, Pb isot
ope ratio measurements were conducted in this study. It was also found that
the Pb isotope ratios were different between bark and bark pockets that pr
oduced 70 years ago. The long-term trends of air pollution from Pb were con
sidered based on these results.