Impacts of Agricultural Pesticide Contamination: An Integrated Risk Assessment of Rural Communities of Eswatini
Marked reductions in mean annual rainfall associated with climate change in Eswatini in Southern Africa have encouraged the recycling of irrigation water and the increased use of pesticides in agricultural production, raising concerns about potential ecological and health risks due to long-term expo...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-09-01
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| Series: | Toxics |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2305-6304/11/9/770 |
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| author | Sithembiso Sifiso Msibi Lihchyun Joseph Su Chung-Yu Chen Cheng-Ping Chang Chiou-Jong Chen Kuen-Yuh Wu Su-Yin Chiang |
| author_facet | Sithembiso Sifiso Msibi Lihchyun Joseph Su Chung-Yu Chen Cheng-Ping Chang Chiou-Jong Chen Kuen-Yuh Wu Su-Yin Chiang |
| author_sort | Sithembiso Sifiso Msibi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Marked reductions in mean annual rainfall associated with climate change in Eswatini in Southern Africa have encouraged the recycling of irrigation water and the increased use of pesticides in agricultural production, raising concerns about potential ecological and health risks due to long-term exposure to pesticide residues in soil and irrigation water. This probabilistic integrated risk assessment used liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry to analyze the concentrations of four commonly used agricultural pesticides (ametryn, atrazine, pendimethalin, and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D)) in irrigation water and topsoil samples from farmlands in Eswatini to assess potential ecological and health risks due to exposure. The concentrations of these pesticides ranged from undetectable to 0.104 µg/L in irrigation water and from undetectable to 2.70 µg/g in soil. The probabilistic multi-pathway and multi-route risk assessments conducted revealed hazard indices exceeding 1.0 for all age groups for ametryn and atrazine, suggesting that the daily consumption of recycled irrigation water and produce from the fields in this area may pose considerable health risks. The indices pertaining to ecological risks had values less than 0.1. Adaptation measures are recommended to efficiently manage pesticide use in agriculture, and further research will ensure that agriculture can adapt to climate change and that the general public and ecosystem are protected. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T21:53:25Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-370d6b6ebe56427db7f3f45abc0b4beb |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2305-6304 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T21:53:25Z |
| publishDate | 2023-09-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Toxics |
| spelling | doaj.art-370d6b6ebe56427db7f3f45abc0b4beb2023-11-19T13:14:55ZengMDPI AGToxics2305-63042023-09-0111977010.3390/toxics11090770Impacts of Agricultural Pesticide Contamination: An Integrated Risk Assessment of Rural Communities of EswatiniSithembiso Sifiso Msibi0Lihchyun Joseph Su1Chung-Yu Chen2Cheng-Ping Chang3Chiou-Jong Chen4Kuen-Yuh Wu5Su-Yin Chiang6O’Donnell School of Public Health, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Boulevard, Dallas, TX 75390, USAO’Donnell School of Public Health, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 5323 Harry Hines Boulevard, Dallas, TX 75390, USADepartment of Occupational Safety and Health, College of Health Sciences, Chang Jung Christian University, No. 1, Changda Rd., Guiren District, Tainan 71101, TaiwanDepartment of Occupational Safety and Health, College of Health Sciences, Chang Jung Christian University, No. 1, Changda Rd., Guiren District, Tainan 71101, TaiwanDepartment of Occupational Safety and Health, College of Health Sciences, Chang Jung Christian University, No. 1, Changda Rd., Guiren District, Tainan 71101, TaiwanInstitute of Food Safety and Health, College of Public Health, National Taiwan University, No. 17, Xuzhou Rd., Taipei 10055, TaiwanSchool of Chinese Medicine, College of Chinese Medicine, China Medical University, No. 91, Hsueh-Shih Rd., Taichung 40402, TaiwanMarked reductions in mean annual rainfall associated with climate change in Eswatini in Southern Africa have encouraged the recycling of irrigation water and the increased use of pesticides in agricultural production, raising concerns about potential ecological and health risks due to long-term exposure to pesticide residues in soil and irrigation water. This probabilistic integrated risk assessment used liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry to analyze the concentrations of four commonly used agricultural pesticides (ametryn, atrazine, pendimethalin, and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D)) in irrigation water and topsoil samples from farmlands in Eswatini to assess potential ecological and health risks due to exposure. The concentrations of these pesticides ranged from undetectable to 0.104 µg/L in irrigation water and from undetectable to 2.70 µg/g in soil. The probabilistic multi-pathway and multi-route risk assessments conducted revealed hazard indices exceeding 1.0 for all age groups for ametryn and atrazine, suggesting that the daily consumption of recycled irrigation water and produce from the fields in this area may pose considerable health risks. The indices pertaining to ecological risks had values less than 0.1. Adaptation measures are recommended to efficiently manage pesticide use in agriculture, and further research will ensure that agriculture can adapt to climate change and that the general public and ecosystem are protected.https://www.mdpi.com/2305-6304/11/9/770pesticidesagricultureliquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometryenvironmental mediamultimedia modelhealth risk |
| spellingShingle | Sithembiso Sifiso Msibi Lihchyun Joseph Su Chung-Yu Chen Cheng-Ping Chang Chiou-Jong Chen Kuen-Yuh Wu Su-Yin Chiang Impacts of Agricultural Pesticide Contamination: An Integrated Risk Assessment of Rural Communities of Eswatini Toxics pesticides agriculture liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry environmental media multimedia model health risk |
| title | Impacts of Agricultural Pesticide Contamination: An Integrated Risk Assessment of Rural Communities of Eswatini |
| title_full | Impacts of Agricultural Pesticide Contamination: An Integrated Risk Assessment of Rural Communities of Eswatini |
| title_fullStr | Impacts of Agricultural Pesticide Contamination: An Integrated Risk Assessment of Rural Communities of Eswatini |
| title_full_unstemmed | Impacts of Agricultural Pesticide Contamination: An Integrated Risk Assessment of Rural Communities of Eswatini |
| title_short | Impacts of Agricultural Pesticide Contamination: An Integrated Risk Assessment of Rural Communities of Eswatini |
| title_sort | impacts of agricultural pesticide contamination an integrated risk assessment of rural communities of eswatini |
| topic | pesticides agriculture liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry environmental media multimedia model health risk |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2305-6304/11/9/770 |
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