School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Control and Remediation Technology (Sun Yat-Sen University), Guangzhou, 510275, China.
SCNU Environmental Research Institute, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Chemical Pollution and Environmental Safety & MOE Key Laboratory of Theoretical Chemistry of Environment, School of Environment, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510006, PR China.
Environ Pollut. 2021 Dec 15;291:118117. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2021.118117. Epub 2021 Sep 8.
Neonicotinoids (NEOs) have become the most widely used insecticides in the world. However, information on the NEO concentrations in tap water based on nationwide surveys is limited in China. In this study, the levels of six NEOs were measured in tap water samples collected from 38 cities in China. Across all sampling locations, the overall frequency of detection for at least one NEO was 100%, indicating that NEOs are ubiquitous in tap water from China. Imidacloprid was the most abundant NEO (median: 7.59 ng/L), followed by (in decreasing order) clothianidin (5.46 ng/L), dinotefuran (4.55 ng/L), thiamethoxam (4.50 ng/L), acetamiprid (2.72 ng/L), and thiacloprid (0.38 ng/L). Significantly positive correlations (r = 0.655-0.902, p < 0.001) among all pairs of NEOs were observed, which showed that the sources of NEOs in tap water were common or related. Across all sampling locations, regional differences in concentrations (ΣNEOs; sum of six NEOs varied from 0.79 ng/L to 415 ng/L) were observed within China, showing an increasing trend from northern to southern China. Although the estimated daily intake of NEOs were much lower than the reference dose, the potential health risk of NEOs via tap water consumption should raise more public concern considering the high detection rates of NEOs in tap water.
新烟碱类杀虫剂（NEOs）已成为世界上使用最广泛的杀虫剂。然而，中国基于全国性调查的自来水中 NEO 浓度信息有限。在本研究中，测量了来自中国 38 个城市的自来水样本中的六种 NEO 浓度。在所有采样地点，至少有一种 NEO 的检测总频率为 100%，表明 NEO 在中国自来水中普遍存在。吡虫啉是最丰富的 NEO（中位数：7.59ng/L），其次是（降序排列）噻虫啉（5.46ng/L）、噻虫嗪（4.55ng/L）、噻虫胺（4.50ng/L）、乙酰甲胺磷（2.72ng/L）和噻虫啉（0.38ng/L）。所有 NEO 对之间均观察到显著正相关（r=0.655-0.902，p<0.001），表明自来水中 NEO 的来源是共同的或相关的。在所有采样地点，中国各地自来水中的浓度（ΣNEOs；六种 NEOs 的总和从 0.79ng/L 到 415ng/L 不等）存在差异，从北到南呈递增趋势。尽管 NEOs 的估计日摄入量远低于参考剂量，但考虑到自来水中 NEOs 的高检出率，通过饮用自来水摄入 NEOs 可能带来的健康风险应引起更多公众关注。
