Comparison of wet and microwave sample digestion method for the FAAS and GFAAS determination of heavy metal concentrations in moss and lichen samples

In this study, 10 different moss and five different lichen samples were collected from an industrial area in Tokat, Turkey. Control samples were collected from uncontaminated locations. The concentrations of Fe, Mn, Zn, Pb, Ni, Cr, Cu, and Cd in moss and lichen species were determined by flame and graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. Digestion of the samples was performed by using the wet and microwave digestion method. Digestion methods were found suitable for the quantitative recoveries of the analyte ions from moss and lichen samples. The accuracy of the method was confirmed by analysis of standard reference material (IAEA-336 Lichen). The maximum trace elemental concentrations were found to be 949 μg/g (Fe), 290 μg/g (Mn), 82.6 μg/g (Zn), 18.7 μg/g (Pb), 51.9 μg/g (Ni), 23.9 μg/g (Cr), 32.6 μg/g (Cu), and 3.21 μg/g (Cd) in moss samples and 456 μg/g (Fe), 174 μg/g (Mn), 38.9 μg/g (Zn), 8.41 μg/g (Pb), 13.4 μg/g (Ni), 5.30 μg/g (Cr), 15.8 μg/g (Cu), and 2.95 μg/g (Cd) in the lichen samples. The heavy metal levels in the lichen and moss samples collected from an industrial area were found to be higher than the control samples.