Possible use of terrestrial mosses in detection of atmospheric deposition of 7Be over large areas

The activities of naturally occurring radionuclides 7Be, 214Bi and 210Pb were measured in samples of terrestrial mosses collected in Serbia (42°26′19″N–45°23′12″N). The objective of this work was to establish if detectable amounts of 7Be and 210Pb can be found in mosses and investigate their possible variabilities over some area. These are the first steps in introducing mosses as a medium in possible monitoring of spatial distribution of 7Be atmospheric deposition. The mean value of 360 Bq/kg of 7Be activity was found in collected moss samples and some nonuniformity in spatial distribution (a 2.8-fold range in measured values) was observed.