The Aporia · Scientists hung clean moss beside Russian highways to catch traffic pollution

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Researchers in Russia hung bags of moss beside three busy highways to see how much traffic pollution the plants would soak up. asserted

plants → hang → pollution

Published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials, the study exposed moss collected from a clean background site to roadside air along the Leningradskoye, Yaroslavskoye, and Dmitrovkoye highways in central Russia. asserted

study → publish → Russia

After analysing the moss for sixteen elements, the researchers found that traffic-related metals had built up in the plants, with pollution levels varying sharply between the three roads. asserted

levels → analyse → roads

Why scientists hung moss bags beside three Russian highways The study, titled ‘ Impact of traffic-related emissions on air quality assessed via moss bags technique,’ used Sphagnum girgensohnii moss, a species widely recommended for air pollution biomonitoring. asserted

Impact → hang → biomonitoring

Researchers collected clean moss from a background site in Russia's Tver region in May 2023, cleaned it, dried it, and packed it into bags before hanging the bags beside stretches of highway not exposed to any other major pollution sources. uncertain

Researchers → collect → sources

The approach let the team isolate the effect of traffic alone on air quality, rather than the mix of industrial and vehicle sources found in most previous moss-bag studies conducted in urban settings. asserted

team → let → settings

What metals the moss bags collected beside the highways After exposure, the moss bags were analysed using Inductively Coupled Plasma Optical Emission Spectroscopy and a direct mercury analyser to measure sixteen elements, Al (Aluminium), Ba (Barium), Co (Cobalt), Cd (Cadmium), Cr (Chromium), Cu (Copper), Fe (Iron), Mn (Manganese), Ni (Nickel), P (Phosphorus), Pb (Lead), Sr (Strontium), S (Sulphur), V (Vanadium), Zn (Zinc) and Hg (Mercury). asserted

bags → collect → elements

Except for phosphorus, the content of every element in the exposed moss matched or exceeded that of the unexposed samples, showing clear uptake of traffic-related pollutants. asserted

content → match → pollutants

These elements typically originate from vehicle exhaust, tyre and brake wear, engine corrosion, and dust thrown up from the road surface, all of which the moss absorbed directly from the surrounding air over the exposure period. asserted

moss → originate → period

metals came from vehicle exhaust, tyre and brake wear, engine corrosion, and dust thrown up from the road surface, all of which the moss absorbed directly from the surrounding air (Image: Canva) Why the Leningradskoye highway showed the most pollution Pollution levels differed sharply between the three highways. asserted

levels → come → highways

The most pronounced uptake of elements was recorded at Leningradskoye highway, followed by Yaroslavskoye and then Dmitrovkoye, a ranking researchers linked to differences in traffic density. asserted

researchers → record → density

Aluminium, cobalt, cadmium, manganese, and lead were significantly higher in moss exposed at Leningradskoye than at the other two roads. asserted

Aluminium → expose → roads

Statistical analysis also showed that concentrations of aluminium, copper, cobalt, chromium, iron, nickel, and vanadium changed with distance from the road edge, generally falling off the further the moss bags were placed from passing traffic, underscoring how closely tied the contamination was to the highway itself. asserted

contamination → show → highway

Moss bags prove an effective tool for tracking Russian highway pollution The research was carried out by Inga Zinicovscaia, Omari Chaligava, Nikita Yushin, Dmitrii Grozdov, Konstantin Vergel, and Pavel Nekhoroshkov, based at the Department of Nuclear Physics at the Joint Institute for Nuclear Research in Dubna, Russia. asserted

research → prove → Dubna

The team concluded that moss biomonitoring, already widely used across Europe and Asia, proved an effective and inexpensive tool for tracking traffic-related air pollution along stretches of highway free from other contamination sources. asserted

biomonitoring → conclude → sources

Their findings point to vehicle emissions, tyre wear, and brake wear as key contributors to roadside metal pollution, with implications for how such contamination could be monitored more cheaply in the future. uncertain

contamination → point → future

Scientists hung clean moss beside Russian highways to catch traffic pollution

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