171
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature
Switzerland AG 2021
B. Balabanova, T. Stafilov (eds.), Contaminant Levels and Ecological Effects,
Emerging Contaminants and Associated Treatment Technologies,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66135-9_6
Chapter 6
Evidence for Atmospheric Depositions
Using Attic Dust, Spatial Mapping
and Multivariate Stats
Robert Šajn, Biljana Balabanova, Trajče Stafilov, and Claudiu Tănăselia
Abstract Atmospheric deposition poses significant ecological concerns. It is very
important in air pollution researches to provide fast and efficient access to qualitative and quantitative characterization. Case study was introduced in order to implement the multidisciplinary approach in the investigations. When monitoring the
distribution of certain substances in the air, it is necessary to choose very carefully
the medium that will reflect not only the current but also the long-term atmospheric
deposition. Attic dust was examined as historical archive of anthropogenic emissions, with the aim of elucidating the pathways of enrichments associated with
exploitation of Cu, Pb and Zn minerals in the Bregalnica river basin region. Attic
dust samples were collected from 84 settlements. At each location for attic dust
sampling, topsoil samples from the house yards were also collected. Mass spectrometry with inductively coupled plasma (ICP-MS) was applied as an analytical
technique for multi-element determination. The universal kriging method with linear variogram interpolation was applied for the construction of spatial distribution
maps. Data interpretation was considered in correlation with dominant geological
units. Significantly enriched contents for Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn have been correlated
with the lithogenic dominance of Rifeous shales. Both Pb-Zn mine environs were
identified as the most affected areas with lead and zinc enrichments, due to the
R. Šajn
Geological Survey of Slovenia, Ljubljana, Slovenia
B. Balabanova
Faculty of Agriculture, University “Goce Delčev”,
Krste Misirkov bb, Štip, Republic of Macedonia
T. Stafilov (*)
Institute of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University,
Skopje, Republic of Macedonia
e-mail: trajcest@pmf.ukim.mk
C. Tănăselia
INCDO-INOE 2000 Research Institute for Analytical Instrumentation (ICIA),
Cluj-Napoca, Romania
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature
Switzerland AG 2021
B. Balabanova, T. Stafilov (eds.), Contaminant Levels and Ecological Effects,
Emerging Contaminants and Associated Treatment Technologies,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-66135-9_6
Chapter 6
Evidence for Atmospheric Depositions
Using Attic Dust, Spatial Mapping
and Multivariate Stats
Robert Šajn, Biljana Balabanova, Trajče Stafilov, and Claudiu Tănăselia
Abstract Atmospheric deposition poses significant ecological concerns. It is very
important in air pollution researches to provide fast and efficient access to qualitative and quantitative characterization. Case study was introduced in order to implement the multidisciplinary approach in the investigations. When monitoring the
distribution of certain substances in the air, it is necessary to choose very carefully
the medium that will reflect not only the current but also the long-term atmospheric
deposition. Attic dust was examined as historical archive of anthropogenic emissions, with the aim of elucidating the pathways of enrichments associated with
exploitation of Cu, Pb and Zn minerals in the Bregalnica river basin region. Attic
dust samples were collected from 84 settlements. At each location for attic dust
sampling, topsoil samples from the house yards were also collected. Mass spectrometry with inductively coupled plasma (ICP-MS) was applied as an analytical
technique for multi-element determination. The universal kriging method with linear variogram interpolation was applied for the construction of spatial distribution
maps. Data interpretation was considered in correlation with dominant geological
units. Significantly enriched contents for Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn have been correlated
with the lithogenic dominance of Rifeous shales. Both Pb-Zn mine environs were
identified as the most affected areas with lead and zinc enrichments, due to the
R. Šajn
Geological Survey of Slovenia, Ljubljana, Slovenia
B. Balabanova
Faculty of Agriculture, University “Goce Delčev”,
Krste Misirkov bb, Štip, Republic of Macedonia
T. Stafilov (*)
Institute of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University,
Skopje, Republic of Macedonia
e-mail: trajcest@pmf.ukim.mk
C. Tănăselia
INCDO-INOE 2000 Research Institute for Analytical Instrumentation (ICIA),
Cluj-Napoca, Romania