American Journal of Environmental Science, 2012, 8 (4), 412-416 ISSN: 1553-345X ©2012 Science Publication doi:10.3844/ajessp.2012.412.416 Published Online 8 (4) 2012 (http://www.thescipub.com/ajes.toc) 412 Science Publications AJES COMPARISON OF TWO ANALYTICAL TECHNIQUES FOR LEAD DETERMINATION IN SOILS AND MOSSES SAMPLES 1 Albert Maxhuni, 2 Pranvera Lazo and 1 Musaj Paqarizi 1 Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Prishtina, Kosovo 2 Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Tirana, Albania Received 2012-03-07; Revised 2012-06-21; Accepted 2012-06-21 ABSTRACT The aim of this study was to compare the results of the lead levels obtained by two different techniques in the soil and mosses samples taken from the entire territory of the Republic of Kosovo. The atmospheric deposition of lead through the biomonitoring technique was done for the first time in Kosovo by using quartz tube flame Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy (AAS) and furnace AAS. The analytical results obtained by both techniques were very close to each other for the concentration of lead up to 0.15 mg kg -1 . Mosses were used as bioindicators due to the purpose that they take the food from the rainfall and atmospheric dust. Two types of terrestrial mosses (Pseudosclerpodium purum and Hypnum cupressiforme) and the soil, collected in June-July 2011 at 25 sites evenly distributed over the whole region of Kosovo, were used in this study. The lead concentration varies from ~ 11-416 mg kg -1 in the soil and from ~ 3-50 mg kg -1 , DW in mosses, depending on the pollution zone. From the obtained results, we conclude that the lead levels are higher at the sampling positions near the polluted area of industry and heavy traffic. Keywords: Atmospheric deposition, trace elements, lead, air pollution, soil pollution, quartz tube technique 1. INTRODUCTION The method of utilizing mosses as bioindicators was applied more than three decades ago (Rühling and Tyler 1973) and now is a widely accepted method for estimation of atmospheric depictions of metals (Rühling and Steinnes 1998; Harmens et al., 2004). Mosses have only a rudimentary root system and take up elements from the atmosphere. This method has as advantage the simple sample collection and relative easiness of analysis compared to other techniques used for this purpose. The results from the survey of mosses analyzes allow examination of temporal and spatial distribution of different inorganic and organic pollutants and also the identification of the particular areas that are highly polluted from this metal due to the long-range transport and other local sources. The technique using moss as bioindicators for assessing heavy metal distribution had been successfully applied by different groups (Ermakova et al., 2004; Barandovski et al., 2008). Pb in soil represents a major environmental and human health concern due to their high toxicity, low biodegradability and cumulative tendency. In the Republic of Kosovo so far there is no monitoring program that deals with the traces metals determination in the atmosphere. From the results of previous studies (Borgna et al., 2009) it was pointed out that some areas are contaminated with elevated levels of lead and other heavy metals in Kosovo. The primary goal is to have an overview regarding the distribution of heavy metals from atmospheric deposition from air and soil pollution. Aiming to achieve a low cost analysis, the levels of lead in the moss samples were determined by two different atomic absorption spectrophotometry techniques: A) quartz tube flame AAS; b) graphite furnace AAS; and the results were compared. 2. MATERIALS AND METHODS 2.1. Study Area The Republic of Kosovo, located in the central part of Balkan, is a landlocked country with an area of 10,887 km 2 with approximately 63% of the territory in mountainous regions. The country’s population is around 2 million people. The major urban areas are Pristina, Mitrovica, Prizeren, Peja, Gjakova, Gjilan and Podujeva.