177
a suitable long-term monitor for the determination of the status and content in air is
proven by numerous studies. Respective analytical work was first presented by
Cizdziell et al. (1998), analysing
137
Cs and
239
Pu near the Nevada nuclear test site.
Similar application was conducted across the past 20 years, hunting the anthropogenic emissions sources and their impact to the environment (Cizdziel and Hodge
2000; Ilacqua et al. 2003; Gosar et al. 2006; Gosar and Teršič 2012; Tye et al. 2006;
Hensley et al. 2007; Balabanova et al. 2011; Bačeva et al. 2012; Coronas et al. 2013;
Pavilonis et al. 2015; Balabanova et al. 2019). Despite the metal’s enrichment catchment, attic dust should be also considered as a poly-metallic marker for the lithogenic distribution of elements. De Miguel et al. (1999) have proposed a dust model
for tracking the natural phenomena of poly-metallic geochemical association in
urban areas. However, other investigations emphasize only the anthropogenic
enrichments (Fordyce et al. 2005; Goodarzi 2006; Tye et al. 2006; Balabanova et al.
2011, 2019).
6.5.1 Collecting Attic Dust Protocol
Attic dust represents the long-term (historical) deposition of distributed dust in the
air. This medium, which is created for a long time, is a natural archive of particles
that are distributed for a long time in the lower layers of the atmosphere and then
under certain conditions are deposited in a certain environment. In this way, the
particles that bind various substances (gases, liquids and solids) are collected and
thus can give a clear picture of the exposure of organisms to certain pollutants that
are distributed in the air. When setting the protocol for collecting this type of sample
(i.e. medium) through which the monitoring of the pollution conditions in the environment is performed, one must pay attention to the age of the houses where this
dust is collected. There is still a habit among the population not to remove dust from
the attic beams for a long time. Before the dust collection process, it is necessary to
conduct a survey with the population to determine the age of the house (year of
construction) as well as the habits of the people who live there. This is necessary in
order to determine for how long the dust has been deposited in a certain place (location) so that the results of the chemical analysis of these samples can be correctly
interpreted for a certain period of time.
The process of collecting a single sample needs to be performed very carefully.
First, a precisely defined protocol should be set (prepared) for locations from where
the samples should be collected. The researcher determines the size of the space
around the emission source or the area to be covered by the monitoring. Then the
field activities begin, where it is necessary to find houses/dwellings that were built
before the emission occurs (in the case of anthropogenic emission or natural disaster, which occurred in a certain period).
The dust sample is collected from the surface of the attic beams. First, the visible
dirt that has accumulated on the attic beam is removed, and then the finest dust is
carefully collected from the surface with the tip of a polyethylene brush. At least ten
6 Evidence for Atmospheric Depositions Using Attic Dust, Spatial Mapping…
a suitable long-term monitor for the determination of the status and content in air is
proven by numerous studies. Respective analytical work was first presented by
Cizdziell et al. (1998), analysing
137
Cs and
239
Pu near the Nevada nuclear test site.
Similar application was conducted across the past 20 years, hunting the anthropogenic emissions sources and their impact to the environment (Cizdziel and Hodge
2000; Ilacqua et al. 2003; Gosar et al. 2006; Gosar and Teršič 2012; Tye et al. 2006;
Hensley et al. 2007; Balabanova et al. 2011; Bačeva et al. 2012; Coronas et al. 2013;
Pavilonis et al. 2015; Balabanova et al. 2019). Despite the metal’s enrichment catchment, attic dust should be also considered as a poly-metallic marker for the lithogenic distribution of elements. De Miguel et al. (1999) have proposed a dust model
for tracking the natural phenomena of poly-metallic geochemical association in
urban areas. However, other investigations emphasize only the anthropogenic
enrichments (Fordyce et al. 2005; Goodarzi 2006; Tye et al. 2006; Balabanova et al.
2011, 2019).
6.5.1 Collecting Attic Dust Protocol
Attic dust represents the long-term (historical) deposition of distributed dust in the
air. This medium, which is created for a long time, is a natural archive of particles
that are distributed for a long time in the lower layers of the atmosphere and then
under certain conditions are deposited in a certain environment. In this way, the
particles that bind various substances (gases, liquids and solids) are collected and
thus can give a clear picture of the exposure of organisms to certain pollutants that
are distributed in the air. When setting the protocol for collecting this type of sample
(i.e. medium) through which the monitoring of the pollution conditions in the environment is performed, one must pay attention to the age of the houses where this
dust is collected. There is still a habit among the population not to remove dust from
the attic beams for a long time. Before the dust collection process, it is necessary to
conduct a survey with the population to determine the age of the house (year of
construction) as well as the habits of the people who live there. This is necessary in
order to determine for how long the dust has been deposited in a certain place (location) so that the results of the chemical analysis of these samples can be correctly
interpreted for a certain period of time.
The process of collecting a single sample needs to be performed very carefully.
First, a precisely defined protocol should be set (prepared) for locations from where
the samples should be collected. The researcher determines the size of the space
around the emission source or the area to be covered by the monitoring. Then the
field activities begin, where it is necessary to find houses/dwellings that were built
before the emission occurs (in the case of anthropogenic emission or natural disaster, which occurred in a certain period).
The dust sample is collected from the surface of the attic beams. First, the visible
dirt that has accumulated on the attic beam is removed, and then the finest dust is
carefully collected from the surface with the tip of a polyethylene brush. At least ten
6 Evidence for Atmospheric Depositions Using Attic Dust, Spatial Mapping…