title: Herbicide and pesticide occurrence in the soils of children's playgrounds in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
abstract: Pesticide pollution in Sarajevo public playgrounds is an important health and environmental issue, and the lack of information about it is causing concerns amongst the general population as well as researchers. Since children are in direct contact with surface soils on children's playgrounds, such soils should be much more carefully examined. Furthermore, herbicides and pesticides get transmitted from soil surfaces brought from outside the urban areas, or they get dispersed following their direct applications in urban areas. Infants' and children's health can be directly affected by polluted soils because of the inherent toxicity and widespread use of the different pesticides in urban environments such as playgrounds. In addition to that, the presence of chromated copper arsenate (CCA) wood preservative pesticide found as soil pollutant in playing equipment was also documented. Soil samples from playgrounds were collected and analyzed for triazines, carbamates, dithiocarbamates, phenolic herbicides and organochlorine pesticides. Samples for the determination of heavy metals Cu, Cr and As were prepared by microwave-assisted acid digestion, and the findings were determined by using an inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometer. Triazines, carbamates, dithiocarbamates, chlorphenoxy compounds, phenolic herbicides, organochlorine pesticides and organotin compounds were detected in playground soils and their determined concentrations (mg/kg) were respectively found as follows: <0.005, <0.05, <0.5, < 0.4, <0.1, <0.001 and <0.004. The determined contents (mg/kg) of Cu, Cr and As were in the ranges from 16.77 to 80.21, from 7.14 to 15.45 and from 3.31 to 4.43, respectively. Our preliminary results raise concerns about potential adverse effects of herbicides and pesticides on human health, which strengthens the case for a more preventative and protective approach to the uncontrolled presence of herbicides and pesticides in Sarajevo's playground soils.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Pharmacy, Department of Natural Sciences, University of Sarajevo, Zmaja od Bosne 8, 71 000, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. aidasapcanin@bih.net.ba.|Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Sarajevo, Vilsonovo setaliste 9, 71 000, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. aidasapcanin@bih.net.ba.
authors.forename: Aida
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3501-9353
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sapcanin
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, University of Sarajevo, Vilsonovo setaliste 9, 71 000, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
authors.forename: Mirsada
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cakal
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Pharmacy, Department of Natural Sciences, University of Sarajevo, Zmaja od Bosne 8, 71 000, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
authors.forename: Belma
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Imamovic
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Pharmacy, Department of Natural Sciences, University of Sarajevo, Zmaja od Bosne 8, 71 000, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
authors.forename: Mirsada
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Salihovic
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Biotechnical Sciences, University of Bihac, Luke Marjanovića bb, 77 000, Bihac, Bosnia and Herzegovina.
authors.forename: Ekrem
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Pehlic
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Metallurgy and Technology, University of Montenegro, DzordzaVasingtona bb, 81 000, Podgorica, Montenegro.
authors.forename: Zeljko
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Jacimovic
authors.affiliation: Chemilab d.o.o., Dunajska cesta 238E, 1000, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
authors.forename: Gordan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Jancan
mesh_terms: D001149:Arsenates / Q000032:analysis; D017522:Bosnia and Herzegovina; D002648:Child; D002947:Cities; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D006540:Herbicides / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis; D010575:Pesticides / Q000032:analysis*; D010988:Play and Playthings; D012987:Soil / Q000592:standards*; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D001149:Arsenates; D006540:Herbicides; D019216:Metals, Heavy; D010575:Pesticides; D012987:Soil; D012989:Soil Pollutants; C040890:chromated copper arsenate
keywords: Children’s playgrounds; Chromated copper arsenate (CCA); Herbicides; Pesticides; Pollution; Soil