title: Foliar sorption of emerging and priority contaminants under controlled conditions.
abstract: Agricultural irrigation water contains a variety of contaminants that can be introduced into the food chain through intake by irrigated crops. This paper describes an experiment under controlled conditions designed to simulate sprinkle irrigation with polluted water at two different relative humidities (40 and 90%). Specifically, shed lettuce-heart leaves were spiked with an aqueous solution containing organic microcontaminants, including pharmaceuticals (ibuprofen, diclofenac, clofibric acid, and carbamazepine), fragrances (tonalide), biocides (triclosan), insecticides (lindane), herbicides (atrazine), phenolic estrogen (bisphenol A), and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (phenanthrene and pyrene). Following an incubation period (48 h), the treated leaves were rinsed with water, and both the solution used to rinse them and the leaves themselves were independently analyzed to investigate the foliar sorption and uptake of the spiked organic contaminants through cuticle. The results showed that the foliar sorption of emerging and priority microcontaminants in leaves wetted by irrigation practices is related to their polarity (logD(ow)) and volatility (logk(H)), regardless of their compound class and the relative humidity. The results thus underscore the need to improve the quality of reclaimed water in crop irrigation, particularly when sprinkle irrigation is used.
authors.affiliation: IDAEA-CSIC, Jordi Girona, 18, E-08034 Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Diana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Calderón-Preciado
authors.forename: Víctor
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Matamoros
authors.forename: Carmen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Biel
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Save
authors.forename: Josep M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Bayona
mesh_terms: D057914:Agricultural Irrigation; D018556:Crops, Agricultural; D059022:Food Safety; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D006813:Humidity; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations / Q000032:analysis; D018515:Plant Leaves / Q000187:drug effects*; D012044:Regression Analysis; D013997:Time Factors; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: Emerging organic contaminants; Foliar uptake; Leaf sorption–desorption; Priority contaminants; Relative humidity