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Occurrence, multiphase partition and risk assessment of organic amine pesticides in drinking water source of Xiang River, China

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Abstract

The extensive use of organic amine pesticides (OAPs) in agricultural practices has resulted in the contamination of water environments, posing threats to ecosystems and human health. This study focused on the Xiang River (XR), a representative drinking water source, as the research area to investigate the occurrence characteristics of 34 OAPs. Diphenylamine emerged as the most prevalent OAP in surface water due to industrial and agricultural activities, while cycloate dominated in sediments due to cumulative effects. Generally, the concentration of OAPs in a mixed tap water sample was lower than those in surface water samples, indicating OAPs can be removed by water plants to a certain extent. The water–sediment distribution coefficients (kd) of ΣOAPs were much less than 1 L/g, the majority of OAPs maintained relatively high concentrations in water samples instead of accumulating in sediments. Furthermore, risk assessment revealed that carbofuran showed a moderate risk to the aquatic environment, with a risk quotient of 0.23, while other OAPs presented minor risks. This study provided crucial insights for regional pesticide management and control in the XR basin, emphasizing the importance of implementing strategies to minimize the release of OAPs into the environment and protect human health.

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Acknowledgements

The authors express their sincere gratitude to Professor Zhaohui Yang from Hunan University for his enduring care and support over the years.

Funding

This research was funded by State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Monitoring for Heavy Metal Pollutants (SKLMHM202306), Natural Science Foundation of Hunan Province (2023JJ40028), Science and Technology Project of Hunan Water Resxources Department (XSKJ2023059-42).

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  1. Cao Jiao and Linjunyue Wu contributed equally to this article.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Hydraulic and Environmental Engineering, Changsha University of Science & Technology, Changsha, 410114, China

    Cao Jiao & Wenyu Zhao

  2. Key Laboratory of Dongting Lake Aquatic Eco-Environmental Control and Restoration of Hunan Province, Changsha, 410114, China

    Cao Jiao & Wenyu Zhao

  3. SCNU Environmental Research Institute, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Pollution and Environmental Safety & MOE Key Laboratory of Theoretical Chemistry of Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510006, China

    Linjunyue Wu

  4. SOA Key Laboratory for Polar Science, Polar Research Institute of China, Shanghai, 200136, China

    Minghong Cai

  5. Hunan Ecology and Environment Monitoring Center, State Environmental Protection Key Laboratory of Monitoring for Heavy Metal Pollutants, Changsha, 410014, China

    Yanju Liu & Sha Xie

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  1. Cao Jiao
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Cao and Wu wrote the main manuscript text, Zhao polished the manuscript. Cai, Xie and Liu provided experimental site and financial support. All authors reviewed the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Wenyu Zhao.

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Jiao, C., Wu, L., Zhao, W. et al. Occurrence, multiphase partition and risk assessment of organic amine pesticides in drinking water source of Xiang River, China. Environ Geochem Health 46, 105 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-024-01900-z

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