Abstract
Purpose
The benefits associated with the conventional use of neonicotinoids on greenhouse vegetables have lasted for several decades. Extensive use of neonicotinoids could result in their accumulation in the soils, thereby potentially threatening human health through ingestion, dermal contact and inhalation. This study aimed to clarify the pollution characteristics and non-dietary human cumulative risk of neonicotinoids in vegetable greenhouse soils.
Materials and methods
A total of 283 soil samples were collected from celery, cucumber, pepper and tomato greenhouses across Shandong Province in China and analysed for nine widely used neonicotinoids. Furthermore, the potential health risks for both adults and children were assessed.
Results
Among all the soil samples, imidacloprid, clothianidin and thiamethoxam were the top three detected neonicotinoids, with detection frequencies of 96.82–99.65%. The three neonicotinoids had higher average concentrations in the soils, with average concentrations of 27.55–157.64 µg/kg. All the soil samples contained at least two neonicotinoids, but most of the detected residues were at low levels with concentrations ranging from 0.02 to 1816.67 µg/kg. The levels of total neonicotinoids (calculated based on a relative potency factor method) in tomato and pepper soils were statistically higher than those in cucumber and celery soils. Although the exposure risk to children was far higher than that to adults, the health risk assessment for each neonicotinoid or total neonicotinoids was within the established safe limits (hazard index range, 1.07 × 10−10 to 1.95 × 10−3, < 1). Despite the low health risk, potential hazards of exposure to neonicotinoid-contaminated soils should be continuously assessed due to the low-dose adverse effects and potential accumulation in human tissues.
Conclusions
Our findings indicate that attention should be given to the neonicotinoids in vegetable greenhouse soils due to their ubiquity and toxicokinetic characteristics.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Anastassiades M, Lehotay SJ, Štajnbaher D, Schenck FJ (2003) Fast and easy multiresidue method employing acetonitrile extraction/partitioning and “dispersive solid-phase extraction” for the determination of pesticide residues in produce. J AOAC Int 86:412–431
Annabi E, Ben Salem I, Abid-Essefi S (2019) Acetamiprid, a neonicotinoid insecticide, induced cytotoxicity and genotoxicity in PC12 cells. Toxicol Mech Methods 29:580–586
Bhandari G, Atreya K, Scheepers PT, Geissen V (2020) Concentration and distribution of pesticide residues in soil: non-dietary human health risk assessment. Chemosphere 253:126594
Bonmatin JM, Noome DA, Moreno H, Mitchell EA, Glauser G, Soumana OS, van Lexmond MB, Sánchez-Bayo F (2019) A survey and risk assessment of neonicotinoids in water, soil and sediments of Belize. Environ Pollut 249:949–958
Bonmatin JM, Mitchell EA, Glauser G, Lumawig-Heitzman E, Claveria F, van Lexmond MB, Taira K, Sánchez-Bayo F (2021) Residues of neonicotinoids in soil, water and people’s hair: a case study from three agricultural regions of the Philippines. Sci Total Environ 757:143822
Carvalho FP (2017) Pesticides, environment, and food safety. Food Energy Secur 6:48–60
Chen D, Liu Z, Barrett H, Han J, Lv B, Li Y, Li J, Zhao Y, Wu Y (2020a) Nationwide biomonitoring of neonicotinoid insecticides in breast milk and health risk assessment to nursing infants in the Chinese population. J Agric Food Chem 68:13906–13915
Chen D, Zhang Y, Lv B, Liu Z, Han J, Li J, Zhao Y, Wu Y (2020b) Dietary exposure to neonicotinoid insecticides and health risks in the Chinese general population through two consecutive total diet studies. Environ Int 135:105399
Chen Q, Zhang Y, Li J, Su G, Chen Q, Ding Z, Sun H (2021) Serum concentrations of neonicotinoids, and their associations with lipid molecules of the general residents in Wuxi City. Eastern China J Hazard Mater 413:125235
Cui K, Wu X, Wei D, Zhang Y, Cao J, Xu J, Dong F, Liu X, Zheng Y (2021) Health risks to dietary neonicotinoids are low for Chinese residents based on an analysis of 13 daily-consumed foods. Environ Int 149:106385
Degrendele C, Klánová J, Prokeš R, Příbylová P, Šenk P, Šudoma M, Röösli M, Dalvie MA, Fuhrimann S (2022) Current use pesticides in soil and air from two agricultural sites in South Africa: implications for environmental fate and human exposure. Sci Total Environ 807:150455
Dou R, Sun J, Deng F, Wang P, Zhou H, Wei Z, Chen M, He Z, Lai M, Ye T (2020) Contamination of pyrethroids and atrazine in greenhouse and open-field agricultural soils in China. Sci Total Environ 701:134916
European Commission (EC) (2021) Analytical quality control and method validation procedures for pesticide residues analysis in food and feed. SANTE/11312/2021. Available online: https://www.eurl-pesticides.eu/userfiles/file/EurlALL/SANTE_11312_2021.pdf
Feki A, Ben Saad H, Bkhairia I, Ktari N, Naifar M, Boudawara O, Droguet M, Magné C, Nasri M, Ben Amara I (2019) Cardiotoxicity and myocardial infarction-associated DNA damage induced by thiamethoxam in vitro and in vivo: protective role of Trigonella foenum-graecum seed-derived polysaccharide. Environ Toxicol 34:271–282
Forero LG, Limay-Rios V, Xue Y, Schaafsma A (2017) Concentration and movement of neonicotinoids as particulate matter downwind during agricultural practices using air samplers in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Chemosphere 188:130–138
Houchat JN, Cartereau A, Le Mauff A, Taillebois E, Thany SH (2020) An overview on the effect of neonicotinoid insecticides on mammalian cholinergic functions through the activation of neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. Int J Environ Res Public Health 17:3222
Humann-Guilleminot S, Binkowski ŁJ, Jenni L, Hilke G, Glauser G, Helfenstein F (2019) A nation-wide survey of neonicotinoid insecticides in agricultural land with implications for agri-environment schemes. J Appl Ecol 56:1502–1514
Jactel H, Verheggen F, Thiéry D, Escobar-Gutiérrez AJ, Gachet E, Desneux N, Group NW (2019) Alternatives to neonicotinoids. Environ Int 129:423-429
Katić A, Kašuba V, Kopjar N, Lovaković B, Marjanović Čermak A, Mendaš G, Micek V, Milić M, Pavičić I, Pizent A, Žunec S, Želježić D (2021) Effects of low-level imidacloprid oral exposure on cholinesterase activity, oxidative stress responses, and primary DNA damage in the blood and brain of male Wistar rats. Chem Biol Interact 338:109287
Khan SU (2016) Pesticides in the soil environment. Elsevier
Li S, Cao Y, Pan Q, Xiao Y, Wang Y, Wang X, Li X, Li Q, Tang X, Ran B (2021a) Neonicotinoid insecticides triggers mitochondrial bioenergetic dysfunction via manipulating ROS-calcium influx pathway in the liver. Ecotoxicol Environ Saf 224:112690
Li Y, Long L, Yan H, Ge J, Cheng J, Ren L, Yu X (2018) Comparison of uptake, translocation and accumulation of several neonicotinoids in komatsuna (Brassica rapa var. perviridis) from contaminated soils. Chemosphere 200:603–611
Li Y, Long L, Ge J, Li H, Zhang M, Wan Q, Yu X (2019) Effect of imidacloprid uptake from contaminated soils on vegetable growth. J Agric Food Chem 67:7232–7242
Li Z, Sun J, Zhu L (2021b) Organophosphorus pesticides in greenhouse and open-field soils across China: distribution characteristic, polluted pathway and health risk. Sci Total Environ 765:142757
Liang L, Ridoutt BG, Lal R, Wang D, Wu W, Peng P, Hang S, Wang L, Zhao G (2019) Nitrogen footprint and nitrogen use efficiency of greenhouse tomato production in North China. J Clean Prod 208:285–296
Martínez-Escudero C, Garrido I, Flores P, Hellín P, Contreras-López F, Fenoll J (2022) Remediation of triazole, anilinopyrimidine, strobilurin and neonicotinoid pesticides in polluted soil using ozonation and solarization. J Environ Manage 310:114781
Pang S, Lin Z, Zhang W, Mishra S, Bhatt P, Chen S (2020) Insights into the microbial degradation and biochemical mechanisms of neonicotinoids. Front Microbiol 11:868
Sarkar B, Tsang DC, Song H, Ding S, Vithanage M (2019) Technological innovation for soil/sediment remediation. J Soils Sediments 12:3881–3882
Sun J, Pan L, Li Z, Zeng Q, Wang L, Zhu L (2018) Comparison of greenhouse and open field cultivations across China: soil characteristics, contamination and microbial diversity. Environ Pollut 243:1509–1516
United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) (2021) Regional screening levels (RSLs) - user’s guide. Washington DC. Available online: https://www.epa.gov/risk/human-health-risk-assessment
Vela N, Fenoll J, Navarro G, Garrido I, Navarro S (2017) Trial of solar heating methods (solarization and biosolarization) to reduce persistence of neonicotinoid and diamide insecticides in a semiarid Mediterranean soil. Sci Total Environ 590:325–332
Wang A, Mahai G, Wan Y, Jiang Y, Meng Q, Xia W, He Z, Xu S (2019) Neonicotinoids and carbendazim in indoor dust from three cities in China: spatial and temporal variations. Sci Total Environ 695:133790
Wang F, Li X, Yu S, He S, Cao D, Yao S, Fang H, Yu Y (2021) Chemical factors affecting uptake and translocation of six pesticides in soil by maize (Zea mays L.). J Hazard Mater 405:124269.
Wang Y, Li X, Shen J, Lang H, Dong S, Zhang L, Fang H, Yu Y (2022) Uptake, translocation, and metabolism of thiamethoxam in soil by leek plants. Environ Res 211:113084
Wu RL, He W, Li YL, Li YY, Qin YF, Meng FQ, Wang LG, Xu FL (2020) Residual concentrations and ecological risks of neonicotinoid insecticides in the soils of tomato and cucumber greenhouses in Shouguang, Shandong Province. East China Sci Total Environ 738:140248
Xu L, Xu X, Guo L, Wang Z, Wu X, Kuang H, Xu C (2021a) Potential environmental health risk analysis of neonicotinoids and a synergist. Environ Sci Technol 55:7541–7550
Xu M, Zhang Z, Li Z, Kan S, Liu Z, Wang D, Liu Q, Zhang H (2021b) Profiles of neonicotinoid insecticides and characteristic metabolites in paired urine and blood samples: partitioning between urine and blood and implications for human exposure. Sci Total Environ 773:145582
Yadav IC, Devi NL, Li J, Zhang G, Shakya PR (2016) Occurrence, profile and spatial distribution of organochlorines pesticides in soil of Nepal: implication for source apportionment and health risk assessment. Sci Total Environ 573:1598–1606
You X, Jiang H, Zhao M, Suo F, Zhang C, Zheng H, Sun K, Zhang G, Li F, Li Y (2020) Biochar reduced Chinese chive (Allium tuberosum) uptake and dissipation of thiamethoxam in an agricultural soil. J Hazard Mater 390:121749
Yu H, Liu Y, Shu X, Ma L, Pan Y (2020) Assessment of the spatial distribution of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in urban soil of China. Chemosphere 243:125392
Yu Z, Li XF, Wang S, Liu LY, Zeng EY (2021) The human and ecological risks of neonicotinoid insecticides in soils of an agricultural zone within the Pearl River Delta. South China Environ Pollut 284:117358
Zeng S, Ma J, Yang Y, Zhang S, Liu GJ, Chen F (2019) Spatial assessment of farmland soil pollution and its potential human health risks in China. Sci Total Environ 687:642–653
Zhang C, Yi X, Chen C, Tian D, Liu H, Xie L, Zhu X, Huang M, Ying GG (2020) Contamination of neonicotinoid insecticides in soil-water-sediment systems of the urban and rural areas in a rapidly developing region: Guangzhou. South China Environ Int 139:105719
Zhang D, Lu S (2022) Human exposure to neonicotinoids and the associated health risks: a review. Environ Int 163:107201
Zhang H, Zhang N, Zhou W, Zeng X, Wang X, Zhan M, Xu W, Huang Y, Lu L, Li Z (2021a) Profiles of neonicotinoid insecticides and their metabolites in paired saliva and periodontal blood samples in human from South China: association with oxidative stress markers. Ecotoxicol Environ Saf 212:112001
Zhang N, Wang B, Zhang Z, Chen X, Huang Y, Liu Q, Zhang H (2021b) Occurrence of neonicotinoid insecticides and their metabolites in tooth samples collected from south China: associations with periodontitis. Chemosphere 264:128498
Zhao GP, Li JW, Yang FW, Yin XF, Ren FZ, Fang B, Pang GF (2021) Spermiogenesis toxicity of imidacloprid in rats, possible role of CYP3A4. Chemosphere 282:131120
Zhao Y, Ren Z, Yang H, Li Y (2022) A novel multi-criteria framework for optimizing ecotoxicological effects and human health risks of neonicotinoid insecticides: characterization, assessment and regulation strategies. J Hazard Mater 432:128712
Zheng T, Zhang J, Tang C, Zhang Y, Duan J (2022) Persistence and vertical distribution of neonicotinoids in soils under different citrus orchards chrono sequences from southern China. Chemosphere 286:131584
Zhou Y, Guo J, Wang Z, Zhang B, Sun Z, Yun X, Zhang J (2020) Levels and inhalation health risk of neonicotinoid insecticides in fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in urban and rural areas of China. Environ Int 142:105822
Zhou Y, Lu X, Yu B, Wang D, Zhao C, Yang Q, Zhang Q, Tan Y, Wang X, Guo J (2021) Comparison of neonicotinoid residues in soils of different land use types. Sci Total Environ 782:146803
Funding
This work was financially supported by the Agricultural Scientific and Technological Innovation Project of Shandong Academy of Agricultural Sciences (No. CXGC2022E05) and the Open Project Program of Shandong Provincial Key Laboratory of Test Technology on Food Quality and Safety (No. 2021KF01).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Competing interests
The authors declare no competing interests.
Additional information
Responsible editor: Yanzheng Gao
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Supplementary Information
Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.
Rights and permissions
Springer Nature or its licensor holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.
About this article
Cite this article
Cui, K., Ning, M., Liang, J. et al. Pollution characteristics and non-dietary human cumulative risk assessment of neonicotinoids in vegetable greenhouse soils: a case study in Shandong Province, China. J Soils Sediments 23, 331–343 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-022-03321-w
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11368-022-03321-w