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Phthalate esters and organochlorine pesticides in agricultural soils and vegetables from fast-growing regions: a case study from eastern China

  • Research in soil pollution and remediation in China
  • Published:
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Abstract

The present study investigated phthalate esters (PAEs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in agricultural soils and vegetables from eastern China. The concentrations of PAEs ranged from 109 to 5560 ng/g in soils and 60.1 to 2390 ng/g in cabbages, with average concentrations of 946 and 601 ng/g, respectively. The concentrations of OCPs ranged from <0.1 to 662 ng/g in soils and <0.1 to 42.8 ng/g in cabbages, with average concentrations of 134 and 11.6 ng/g, respectively. OCPs were mainly in the 0–30 cm surface soil layers, while PAEs could infiltrate in deep soil profiles to 70–80 cm layer. Potential source analysis traced the occurrence of OCPs to both historical application and current usage, whereas building materials and agricultural plastic film were possible input sources of PAEs in the ambient environment. OCPs showed no apparent effect on soil microbial communities, whereas significant negative relationship was observed between PAEs and fungi in soils (R = −0.54, p < 0.01). Human health risk assessment data revealed marginal noncarcinogenic risks and low carcinogenic risks in these soils. Notably, PAEs posed a comparable or higher risk level compared with that of OCPs. This study suggests the need for better regulation on pollution control and management of PAE-elevated sites to protect soil quality and food safety.

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Acknowledgments

This work was jointly supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (2014CB441101), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (21520102009), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (2016FZA6007).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Science, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, 310058, China

    Jianteng Sun, Lili Pan, Zhiheng Li & Lizhong Zhu

  2. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong

    Jianteng Sun, Daniel C.W. Tsang & Xiangdong Li

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  1. Jianteng Sun
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  2. Lili Pan
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  3. Daniel C.W. Tsang
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  4. Zhiheng Li
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  6. Xiangdong Li
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Correspondence to Lizhong Zhu or Xiangdong Li.

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Responsible editor: Hongwen Sun

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Sun, J., Pan, L., Tsang, D.C. et al. Phthalate esters and organochlorine pesticides in agricultural soils and vegetables from fast-growing regions: a case study from eastern China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 25, 34–42 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-7725-7

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