Definition and Analysis of Natural and Anthropogenic Geochemical Вackground for the Boss-Biomonitoring Method
A study was conducted on the content of chemical elements in the epiphytic moss of Pylaisia polyantha (Hedw.) V.S.G. The moss samples were taken from 6 background areas of the West Siberian region, as well as in the city of Tomsk. The content of chemical elements is determined using neutron activation analysis. The hypothesis about the normal/log-normal distribution of the concentrations of chemical elements was tested using the χ2 criterion; asymmetry and kurtosis were used for samples less than 20. When the hypothesis is confirmed, the background concentrations of chemical elements are defined as mean values ±2σ. The concentrations of each background area are subject to the normal distribution law. For the overwhelming number of elements, the anthropogenic background of the city of Tomsk is 2 times or more natural.