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The uptake and bioaccumulation of the platinum group metals (PGM) platinum (Pt), palladium (Pd), and rhodium (Rh) by the zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) were investigated in exposure studies using ground material from unused automobile catalytic converters as metal source. The mussels were exposed to the metals in tap water or humic water. In the soft tissue samples of exposed mussels mean Pt levels ranged in dependence on the type of tank water and the exposure period (6, 9, or 18 weeks) between 780 and 4300 ng/g, the Pd levels ranged between 720 and 6300 ng/g, and the Rh levels ranged between 270 and 1900 ng/g. In contrast, the control mussels had metal concentrations of <20 ng/g (Pt), <50 ng/g (Pd), and <40 ng/g (Rh). Considerably higher PGM levels were found in the exposed mussels of the humic water group than in those of the tap water group. Although there is a cumulative increase of the PGM concentrations in the environment since the introduction of the automobile catalyst more than 20 years ago, only little information about the PGM contamination in the biosphere, especially the fauna, is available. Due to the high capacity of D. polymorpha to accumulate PGM, this bivalve could be used as a potential sentinel for monitoring the noble metals in aquatic ecosystems.

Heavy metal concentrations were measured in airborne dust collected at three sites with different traffic densities from August 2001 to July 2002 in the Frankfurt am Main area. Bulk samples of particulate matter (PM) with an aerodynamic equivalent diameter of <22 microm were collected on cellulose nitrate filters using air filtration devices. Fractionated samples of PM with an aerodynamic equivalent diameter of <10 microm were collected using an eight-stage Andersen impactor. Pb, Cd, Mn, Ni, Zn, V, As, Sb, Cu, Cr, Co, and Ce were determined by inductively coupled plasma sector field mass spectrometry, Pt and Rh were determined by adsorptive voltammetry, and Pd was determined by total reflection X-ray fluorescence analysis. The results show that the highest airborne heavy metal concentrations occurred at the main street with a large volume of traffic. With the exception of Co, V, Ce, and Mn, the heavy metals had an elevated enrichment factor compared to their concentrations in the continental crust. The main street site was especially contaminated with Sb, Zn, Cu, V, and Ni. Motor vehicles are the likely source of emissions. With the exception of Cr, Cu, and Zn, most of the airborne heavy metal concentrations determined for impactor samples deviate slightly from the results for total airborne dust. Heavy metal particle size distributions can be divided into three groups. For metals such as As, Cd, Pb, and V, the main fraction can be found in fine particles with a diameter of <2.1 microm, whereas Ce, Cr, Co, and Ni occur mainly in coarse particles with a diameter of >2.1 microm. Cu, Mn, Sb, Zn, Pt, Pd, and Rh occur in high concentrations in the medium range of the impactor stages (particle diameters of 1.1-4.7 microm). Metal concentrations in fine dust particles are needed to assess the human health risks of their inhalation.

The binding of palladium to high-molecular-mass compounds in palladium-treated lettuce is investigated as an example for a biological matrix. The total palladium concentration in lettuce leaves is 10.3 ng/g wet weight. After homogenization, high-molecular-mass compounds (> 10 kDa) are isolated by ultrafiltration. For separation of these palladium species a combination of preparative gel permeation chromatography (GPC) and preparative isotachophoresis (ITP) is used. Palladium is determined in separated fractions by using a highly sensitive total reflection X-ray fluorescence (TXRF) method after preconcentration. After GPC separation, four main fractions of palladium species are collected, each containing palladium in ng quantities (3-10 ng). Two of these fractions are further separated by ITP, yielding at least three main peaks per GPC fraction, each containing palladium in the range of 0.3-3 ng. These palladium containing peaks are characterized by high-performance size exclusion chromatography (HPSEC) and capillary isotachophoresis (cITP) in parallel. HPSEC enables the estimation of the molecular mass of six main palladium peaks, covering a molecular mass range of 69-200 kDa. It is also shown that the estimation of molecular mass after separation is more reliable than the respective estimation directly in the first GPC run. However, cITP reveals that each of the separated peaks is still a mixture of at least five different compounds.

The bioaccumulation of Pt, Pd and Rh by grass grown hydroponically with nutrient solutions containing these ions at elevated (38.7 mg l(-1) Pt, 21.7 mg l(-1) Pd and 7.1 mg l(-1) Rh) and medium (3.6 mg l(-1) Pt, 4.4 mg l(-1) Pd and 0.5 mg l(-1) Rh) concentrations was studied by using inductively coupled plasma sector field mass spectrometry (ICP-SFMS). The highest bioaccumulation factors were obtained for Pd and Rh in roots and for Pt in leaves. The obtained results showed that most of the studied metals were accumulated in roots, and only a small fraction was really metabolised and transported to leaves. The multi-element capability of ICP-SFMS has been exploited to study the metabolism of platinum group elements (PGEs) in cultivated plants. The species of studied metals were extracted from roots and leaves and separated into two mass fractions by ultra-filtration. The low molecular mass (<10 kDa) fractions of the root and the leaf extracts were investigated by size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) coupled on-line to ICP-SFMS. The presence of Ca, Cu, S and C in the same fractions as Pt, Pd and Rh may indicate the interaction of PGEs with phytochelatins and carbohydrates.

The uptake and bioaccumulation of 15 road dust metals by the zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) were investigated in laboratory exposure studies with emphasis on the traffic-related platinum-group elements (PGEs) palladium (Pd), platinum (Pt), and rhodium (Rh). The biological availability of the metals may depend on water characteristics, so the mussels were maintained in two types of water: nonchlorinated tap water and humic water of a bog lake, both of which contained dust of a moderately frequented road. After an exposure period of 26 weeks, soft tissues of the mussels were freeze-dried and analyzed for the metals. The metal concentrations in the mussel soft tissue ranged from several hundred micrograms per gram (e.g., for iron [Fe]) to less than 10 ng/g (for PGEs). Metal uptake from the road dust by the mussels was found for the PGEs and silver (Ag), bismuth (Bi), cadmium (Cd), cobalt (Co), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), Fe, lead (Pb), and antimony (Sb). After maintenance of mussels in road dust-contaminated tap water, bioaccumulation factors (BAF = (C(exposed mussels) - C(control mussels))/C(total metal, water), where c is concentration) decreased in the following order: Cu > Cd > Ag > Pd > Sb > Pb > Fe > Pt > Rh. The biological availability of most metals was enhanced by humic water as compared to tap water. Our results show a hitherto unrecognized high availability of Pd for the mussels. Thus, this metal should be monitored more intensively in the environment to assess its distribution in the biosphere.

Following the introduction of automobile catalysts in the middle of the Eighties in Germany there is an increasing emission of the platinum-group-metals (PGM) platinum (Pt), palladium (Pd) and rhodium (Rh). Still, it remains unclear if these metals are bioavailable for aquatic animals and to which extent they accumulate in the aquatic biosphere. Zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) were maintained in water containing road dust at a concentration of 1 kg/10 l. Following an exposure period of 26 weeks, soft tissues of the mussels were analysed applying adsorptive cathodic stripping voltammetry (ACSV) for the determination of Pt and Rh and total-reflection X-ray fluorescence analysis after co-precipitation of Pd with mercury. This experiment revealed for the first time that all the three catalyst emitted metals were accumulated by mussels. The bioaccumulation increased in the following manner: Rh < Pt < Pd. Thus, the application of sentinel organisms in combination with modern trace analytical procedures in environmental impact studies does allow an assessment of the distribution and the degree of bioaccumulation of PGM in the environment, which is highly appreciated.