title: The status of organochlorine pesticide contamination in the soils of the Campanian Plain, southern Italy, and correlations with soil properties and cancer risk.
abstract: The distribution, inventory, and potential risk of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), including Hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs) and Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethanes (DDTs), and their correlation with soil properties and anthropogenic factors were investigated in soils of the Campanian Plain. The total concentrations of HCHs and DDTs ranged from 0.03 to 17.3 ng/g (geometric mean: GM = 0.05 ng/g), and 0.08-1231 ng/g (GM = 14.4 ng/g), respectively. In general, the concentration of OCPs in farmland and orchards was higher than on land used for non-agricultural purposes. There are significant differences in the concentration of OCPs in the soils across the region, more specifically, the Acerra-Marigliano conurbation (AMC) and Sarno River Basin (SRB) are recognized as severely OCP-contaminated areas. The recent application of technical HCHs and DDTs in large quantities appears unlikely in light of the ratio of α-HCH/β-HCH and p,p'-DDT/p,p'-DDE, and the prohibition of the use of these chemicals in Italy nearly forty years ago. The clear correlation between the concentration of DDTs and organic carbon suggests a typical secondary distribution pattern. The mass inventory of OCPs in soils of the Campanian Plain is estimated to have a GM of 17.3 metric tons. There is no clear evidence linking the impact of geographical distribution of OCPs on the incidence of cancer, and the 95% confidence interval of total incremental lifetime cancer risk (TILCR) data falls below the internationally accepted benchmark value of 1 × 10(-5).
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, dell'Ambiente e delle Risorse, Università di Napoli "Federico II", Via Mezzocannone 8, 80134 Napoli, Italy; State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, 430074 Wuhan, China.
authors.forename: Chengkai
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Qu
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, dell'Ambiente e delle Risorse, Università di Napoli "Federico II", Via Mezzocannone 8, 80134 Napoli, Italy.
authors.forename: Stefano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Albanese
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, 430074 Wuhan, China; Lancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University, Lancaster, Lancashire LA1 4YQ, UK.
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, dell'Ambiente e delle Risorse, Università di Napoli "Federico II", Via Mezzocannone 8, 80134 Napoli, Italy.
authors.forename: Annamaria
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lima
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, dell'Ambiente e delle Risorse, Università di Napoli "Federico II", Via Mezzocannone 8, 80134 Napoli, Italy.
authors.forename: Angela L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Doherty
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Agraria, Università di Napoli "Federico II", Via Università 100, 80055 Portici, Italy.
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Piccolo
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, dell'Ambiente e delle Risorse, Università di Napoli "Federico II", Via Mezzocannone 8, 80134 Napoli, Italy.
authors.forename: Michele
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Arienzo
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, School of Environmental Studies, China University of Geosciences, 430074 Wuhan, China. Electronic address: shihuaqi@cug.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Shihua
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Qi
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, dell'Ambiente e delle Risorse, Università di Napoli "Federico II", Via Mezzocannone 8, 80134 Napoli, Italy.
authors.forename: Benedetto
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: De Vivo
mesh_terms: D004781:Environmental Exposure; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D006801:Humans; D006843:Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000633:toxicity; D007558:Italy / Q000453:epidemiology; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000139:chemically induced* / Q000453:epidemiology; D010575:Pesticides / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000633:toxicity; D045483:Rivers / Q000737:chemistry; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry*; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000633:toxicity
chemical_list: D006843:Hydrocarbons, Chlorinated; D010575:Pesticides; D012987:Soil; D012989:Soil Pollutants
keywords: Campanian Plain; Mass inventory; Organochlorine pesticides; Risk assessment; Soil property