Historical biomonitoring of fluoride pollution by determining fluoride contents in roe deer (Capreolus capreolus L.) antlers and mandibles in the vicinity of the largest Slovene thermal power plant

Abstract

Roe deer antlers/mandibles are a useful tool for determination of ambient fluoride pollution. Antlers have a well-defined annual cycle of growth, therefore they represent a natural standardisation of samples during winter months. On the contrary, mandibles accumulate fluorides during the whole life of an organism, thus they reflect aggregated effect of fluoride pollution trough the life-span of an organism. Both tissues are easily available; mandibles are often systematically collected with the purpose of cognitive management and control, and antlers could be gathered from private well-dated hunters' collections. Considering these benefits, fluoride contents were measured in 141 antlers (period 1960-2007) and 220 mandibles (period 1997-2009) of roe deer, shot in the vicinity of the largest Slovene Thermal Power Plant of Šoštanj (ŠTPP) as one of the major sources of fluorides in Slovenia. Fluoride contents in antlers significantly differed among age categories, and ranged from 110 to 1210 mg/kg in yearlings, 130 to 2340 mg/kg in young adults, and 250 to 2590 mg/kg in older adults, respectively. Fluoride levels in mandibles were also significantly different among age categories, and ranged from 30.0 to 227 mg/kg in fawns, 33.8 to 383 mg/kg in yearlings, and 61.5 to 1020 mg/kg in adults, respectively. Comparison of these results with previously reported fluoride contents in antlers and mandibles of roe deer from different areas of Europe revealed that the study area has never been extensively contaminated with fluorides. Moreover, trends of fluoride contents in both tissues confirmed a significant decrease of fluoride pollution in the area after the years 1995 and 2000, when flue-gas cleaning devices were constructed on the ŠTPP. Indeed, highly positive correlations between annual emissions from the ŠTPP and mean annual fluoride contents in antlers/mandibles confirmed that both tissues may be a useful tool for assessing temporal trends in ambient fluoride pollution.