Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and phthalic acid esters in vegetables from nine farms of the Pearl River Delta, South China.
This study investigated the occurrence of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and 6 phthalic acid esters (PAEs) in 11 vegetable species collected from nine farms of the Pearl River Delta, South China. Twelve PAH compounds and all PAE compounds were detected by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC-MS) in vegetables. The total concentrations of PAHs (Sigma(PAHs)) and PAEs (Sigma(PAEs)) ranged from 7.0 to 5353 microg kg(-1) dry weight (d.w.), with a mean value of 1173 microg kg(-1) d.w., and from 0.073 to 11.2 mg kg(-1) d.w., with a mean value of 3.2 mg kg(-1) (d.w.), respectively. The highest levels of Sigma(PAHs) and Sigma(PAEs) were found in Brassica juncea and Brassica parachinensis, respectively. For the same vegetable, the bioconcentration factors (BCFs; the ratio of contaminant concentration in plant tissue to the soil concentration) of PAHs (between 0.0037 and 5.5) are generally higher than those of PAEs (between <0.0001 and 0.61). It was also noted that there were great variations of organic contaminant levels, BCFs, and benzo[a]pyrene equivalent concentrations, which depend on the various contaminants, sampling locations, and vegetable species. The occurrences of PAHs and PAEs in this study are compared with those in other studies and their sources are discussed.
Mo
Ce-Hui
CH
Department of Environmental Engineering, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China. tchmo@jnu.edu.cn
Cai
Quan-Ying
QY
Tang
Shi-Rong
SR
Zeng
Qiao-Yun
QY
Wu
Qi-Tang
QT
D000383:Agriculture; D002681:China; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D004952:Esters; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D010795:Phthalic Acids / Q000032:analysis*; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / Q000032:analysis*; D045483:Rivers; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D014675:Vegetables / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000254:growth & development
D004952:Esters; D010795:Phthalic Acids; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons; D012989:Soil Pollutants