Potentially toxic elements and microplastics in mosses around the industrial zone of Obiliq in the Republic of Kosovo

The aim of this study was to examine the presence of chemical elements and microplastics in the air of the Obiliq industrial zone in Kosovo by using mosses as bioindicators. Moss samples were collected in 7 locations, the moss samples were digested in Teflon tubes by using HNO3 and H2O2, and then 18 chemical elements analyzed by Inductively Coupled Plasma Atomic Emission Spectroscopy. For determination of microplastics in mosses samples, 1 gram per each sample were digested by using Fenton reagent (ferrous iron sulphate solution 0.05 M) in the catalytic wet peroxide oxidation method. A multivariate statistical methods were applied to provide a clearer interpretation of the data. The mean value of Contamination Factor (CF) for potentially toxic elements, revealed extremely high levels of pollution for Pb (326.44), Ni (18.99), Cr (17.99), Co (17.24), As (6.55) Cu (2.26), Fe (2.18), and Cd (1.90). The pollution load index (PLIsite) ranged from 6.11 to 12.25, and the PLI of a whole zone investigated was 9.13. In each mosses samples we identified the fibers and fragments of microplastics with dimensions from 250–3000 μm. These data of chemical elements and microplastics, indicating a significant of anthropogenic impact, as a result of the lignite mines and lignite power plants Kosova A and Kosova B in Kastriot, located in this area, and also the ferronickel open mines in Golesh, and heavy traffic in Pristina city has a huge impact on air pollution with toxic elements.