Mass balance approach to assess the impact of cadmium decrease in mineral phosphate fertilizers on health risk: The case-study of French agricultural soils

G Carne; S Leconte; V Sirot; N Breysse; P-M Badot; A Bispo; I Z Deportes; C Dumat; G Rivière; A Crépet

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.143374

Mass balance approach to assess the impact of cadmium decrease in mineral phosphate fertilizers on health risk: The case-study of French agricultural soils

Sci Total Environ. 2021 Mar 15:760:143374. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.143374. Epub 2020 Nov 1.

Authors

G Carne¹, S Leconte², V Sirot², N Breysse³, P-M Badot⁴, A Bispo⁵, I Z Deportes⁶, C Dumat⁷, G Rivière², A Crépet²

Affiliations

¹ ANSES, Risk Assessment Department, 14 rue Pierre et Marie Curie, F-94701 Maisons-Alfort Cedex, France. Electronic address: geraldine.carne@anses.fr.
² ANSES, Risk Assessment Department, 14 rue Pierre et Marie Curie, F-94701 Maisons-Alfort Cedex, France.
³ ANSES, Regulated Products Assessment Department, 14 rue Pierre et Marie Curie, F-94701, Maisons-Alfort Cedex, France.
⁴ UMR 6249, Chrono-Environment, University of Franche-Comté/CNRS, 16, route de Gray, 25000 Besançon, France.
⁵ INRAE, Orléans US1106 INFOSOL, 2163 avenue de la Pomme de Pin, CS 40001 Ardon, 45075 Orleans cedex 2, France.
⁶ ADEME - Service Mobilisation et valorisation des Déchets, 20 avenue du Grésillé, 49004 Angers cedex 01, France.
⁷ CERTOP, CNRS, UT2J, UPS, 5 Allée Antonio Machado, 31000 Toulouse, France.

PMID: 33213914
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.143374

Abstract

Cadmium is a ubiquitous and highly toxic contaminant that can cause serious adverse effects. The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety (ANSES) have shown that the risk related to food contamination by cadmium cannot be ruled out in Europe and France. Fertilizing material is one of the main sources of cadmium contamination in the food chain on which regulators can play to reduce cadmium exposure in the population. The aim of this work was to develop a mass-balance approach integrating the various environmental sources of cadmium to estimate the effects of a decrease in cadmium concentrations in crop fertilizers on dietary exposure and on the health risk. This approach led to a predictive model that can be used as a decision-making tool. Representative and protective fertilization scenarios associated with controlled cadmium levels in mineral phosphate fertilizers were simulated and converted into cadmium fluxes. Cadmium inputs from industrial mineral phosphate fertilizers were then compared with cadmium brought by the application of manure, sewage sludge and farm anaerobic digest, at the levels typical of French agricultural practices. Regardless of the fertilizer and scenario used, a flux lower than 2 g Cd.ha^-1.year^-1 reduces both the accumulation in soils and the transfer of cadmium in the food chain. It corresponds to a cadmium content of 20 mg.kg P₂O₅^-1 or less in mineral phosphate fertilizers. Modelling the transfer of cadmium from the soil to consumed food made it possible to propose cadmium limits in fertilizers applied in France. In a global context of ecological transition to promote human health, this research will help risk managers and public authorities in the regulatory decision-making process for the reduction of environmental cadmium contamination and human exposure.

Keywords: Cadmium; Fertilizing materials; Food contamination; Human exposure; Risk assessment; Soil contamination.

MeSH terms

Cadmium / analysis
Europe
Fertilizers* / analysis
France
Humans
Minerals
Phosphates / analysis
Soil
Soil Pollutants* / analysis

Substances

Fertilizers
Minerals
Phosphates
Soil
Soil Pollutants
Cadmium