Search

Located in the Puchuncaví Valley (PV) in central Chile is one of the most important and oldest industrial complexes (ICs) in the country. The PV is affected by anthropogenic emissions from the IC where the most important industry is a copper smelter and refinery. In this context, this study assessed the profile, concentration, and enrichment factors of the trace elements, both in the soil and in Cupressus macrocarpa leaves from this high-pollution-load area. The soil and leaf samples were taken from five selected sites, located between 0.8 and 15 km away from the IC. A total of 24 elements were analyzed by ICP-MS and examined by enrichment factor (EF), and PCA source analysis. Leaf concentrations of Ba, Ca, Cd, Cu, K, and Sr showed statistically significant differences between sampling sites (p-value < 0.05). In soil, element concentrations of Al, As, Ba, Cr, Cu, K, Li Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, Pb, and Ti showed statistically significant differences between sampling sites (p-value < 0.05). The source analysis of EFs in the samples of both soil and leaves detected three and four factors, respectively, related mainly to the industrial complex's copper smelter and refinery, coal-fired power plants, and geogenic sources. According to the PCA, the leaf EFs of anthropogenic elements from copper smelting showed that La Greda (LG, site closest to the IC) was significantly enriched in the elements Cu, Zn, As, Mo, and Pb, while the EF in the soil from LG showed high enrichment in Cu and significant enrichment in Pb. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Punchuncaví Valley is one of the most polluted areas in central Chile affected by anthropogenic emissions from the Ventanas Industrial Complex (IC) where the most important industry is the copper smelter and refinery. In this context, this research aims were to assess the usefulness of the Cupressus macrocarpa as a biomonitor. The leaf samples were taken from five selected sites, located between 0.8 and 15 km away from the source. A total of 34 elements were analyzed in leaf samples by ICP-MS and examined by enrichment factor (EF), hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA), and principal component analysis (PCA). Leaf concentration of As, Ca, Cd, Cu, Dy, Er, Gd, K, Li, Mg, Mn, Mo, Na, Nd, P, Pb, Pr, S, Sb, Sr, Ti, Yb and Zn showed statistically significant differences between sampling sites (p-value < 0.05). A clear trend to increase the concentration of Cu, Sb, S, As, Cd and Pb with the proximity to the IC. Besides, high values of Cu (93.4–369 mg kg−1) and As (7.6–12.7 mg kg−1) were observed near to industrial area exceed the phytotoxic levels reported in plants with EF > 3000% for Cu and >1300% for As. The application of PCA and HCA identified 6 factors related to the industrial complex, traffic and geogenic sources, providing the greatest variance the component related to industrial activity mainly with copper smelter and refinery. According to the results, the C. macrocarpa leaves are a good biomonitor to evaluate the high pollution load for anthropogenic elements in industrial areas. Image 1 • C. macrocarpa leaves were used to evaluate air pollution by trace elements in high polluted areas. • Relevant elements were analyzed by ICP-MS and treated by means of chemometric tools. • The main anthropogenic sources in evaluated area was copper smelting and refinery. • Cu showed an enrichment factor >3000% in leaves close to Industrial Complex. • Cu and As near to industrial area exceed the phytotoxic levels reported in plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]