Chrysene and triphenylene in spruce from the Saarland Conurbation
Declining contamination since the mid 1980s
Chrysene and triphenylene are products of combustion of fossil fuels and other organic material. Furthermore, chrysene is used in chemical industry. Both compounds are environmentally persistent and accumulate in organisms. In the samples they are analysed as sum of both compounds.
Between the mid 1980s and early 1990s chrysene and triphenylene were quite high in spruce shoots from the Saarland conurbation sampling site Warndt. Thereafter concentrations decreased. In spruce shoots from the sampling site Oberes Steinbachtal chrysene and triphenylene levels were within the same range and also decreased in time. This indicates that atmospheric pollution has declined in the last years, which is probably due to improved emission protection in the nearby metal-working industry.
Recommended profiles
Specimen
| Common spruce | A major primary producer in semi-natural and anthropogenic affected ecosystems. |
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Analytes
| Chrysene + Triphenylene | Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon with four connected six-membered rings |
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Sampling area
| Saarländischer Verdichtungsraum | Important, old-industrialised conurbation in Germany. |
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