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Assessment of insecticide risk to human health in groundwater in Northern China by using the China‐ PEARL model
Author(s) -
Geng Yue,
Ma Jing,
Zhou Ruize,
Jia Ran,
Li Chongjiu,
Ma Xiaodong
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
pest management science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.296
H-Index - 125
eISSN - 1526-4998
pISSN - 1526-498X
DOI - 10.1002/ps.4572
Subject(s) - groundwater , carbofuran , environmental science , aldicarb , toxicology , china , risk assessment , leaching (pedology) , agriculture , water resource management , environmental protection , groundwater pollution , pesticide , environmental engineering , geography , agronomy , aquifer , biology , ecology , soil water , engineering , geotechnical engineering , computer security , archaeology , computer science , soil science
BACKGROUND Insecticides are extensively used in China and may leach to groundwater, which is used as a source of drinking water in Northern China. However, the risk of insecticide leaching to groundwater and the subsequent risk to human health caused by the consumption of insecticide‐contaminated drinking water remain unclear. RESULTS A total of 336 predicted environmental concentrations ( PECs ) were simulated for 32 commonly used insecticides, and 171 PECs were calculated for 20 metabolites in six agricultural dry‐land scenario locations of Northern China with eight target crops. In 264 of the 336 cases, the PEC in groundwater is ≤0.1 µg L −1 . Carbofuran, imidacloprid, trichlorfon and oxidative metabolites of aldicarb are the most leached chemicals in groundwater. The most vulnerable crop is cotton, whereas soil treatment is the most vulnerable application type. Urumqi and Weifang are the most vulnerable among the six scenario locations. Less than 3% of 336 cases show unacceptable risk of insecticide‐contaminated groundwater, thereby requiring higher risk assessment and risk mitigation. The unacceptable cases are the leaching of carbofuran for cotton growing in Urumqi and Weifang, and leaching of metabolites of aldicarb in cotton and tobacco scenarios. CONCLUSION Popular insecticides used in Northern China are generally safe to groundwater. © 2017 Society of Chemical Industry