Uptake, translocation, and risk assessment of PAHs in contaminated soil-air-vegetable systems based on a field simulation experiment

Jinpu Jia; Chunjuan Bi; Xiaopei Jin; Yongsheng Zeng; Lin Deng; Xueping Wang; Zhenlou Chen

doi:10.1016/j.envpol.2020.116361

Uptake, translocation, and risk assessment of PAHs in contaminated soil-air-vegetable systems based on a field simulation experiment

Environ Pollut. 2021 Feb 15:271:116361. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2020.116361. Epub 2020 Dec 23.

Authors

Jinpu Jia¹, Chunjuan Bi², Xiaopei Jin³, Yongsheng Zeng³, Lin Deng³, Xueping Wang⁴, Zhenlou Chen¹

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Geographic Information Science of Ministry of Education, School of Geographic Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China.
² Key Laboratory of Geographic Information Science of Ministry of Education, School of Geographic Sciences, East China Normal University, Shanghai, China; Institute of Eco-Chongming (IEC), East China Normal University, Shanghai, China. Electronic address: cjbi@geo.ecnu.edu.cn.
³ Institute of Eco-Chongming (IEC), East China Normal University, Shanghai, China.
⁴ Guangxi Key Laboratory of Marine Disaster in the Beibu Gulf, Qinzhou University, Qinzhou, China.

PMID: 33388677
DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2020.116361

Abstract

Vegetable consumption is a potential toxin exposure pathway for humans. Studies have recognized that vegetables can uptake organic contaminants via roots and translocate pollutants to their aerial parts. However, the aerial parts might also directly uptake polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) from contaminated soils. This has not been extensively studied. The aim of this study was to explore the uptake and translocation of PAHs in contaminated soil-air-vegetable systems. Sixteen individual PAHs in contaminated soils, vegetable roots, and leaves were identified using GC-MS. The results showed that the average PAH concentrations both in roots and leaves from the reference soil, the moderately contaminated soil, and the heavily polluted soil increased as expected. PAHs with log K_OW < 5 accumulated more easily in roots and leaves. Using a Pearson correlation analysis, isomer ratios, and a principal component analysis (PCA), it was found that the contaminated soil not only caused PAH accumulation in roots, but also increased the PAH concentration in leaves. Quantitatively, the absorption of PAHs in roots in the moderately contaminated soil (70.3 ng m^-3) was approximately twice that of the reference soil (40.8 ng m^-3). The PAHs absorbed by vegetable roots in the heavily polluted soil (74.7 ng m^-3) was only slightly higher than that of the moderately polluted soil. In addition, the PAH dose volatilized into the air from the reference soil, the moderately contaminated soil, and the heavily polluted soil also showed an increasing trend. The incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR) indicated that adult females had a higher cancer risk via vegetable consumption than other groups. Although vegetable consumption had a slight effect on cancer risk for some groups in the present study, the cancer risk of PAHs caused by eating vegetables grown in heavily contaminated soil still requires attention.

Keywords: Contaminated soil; Field simulation; PAHs uptake; Risk assessment; Vegetable leaf and root.

MeSH terms

Adult
China
Humans
Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons* / analysis
Risk Assessment
Soil
Soil Pollutants* / analysis
Vegetables

Substances

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons
Soil
Soil Pollutants