ECOSPHERE, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020, Antwerp, Belgium; Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610, Wilrijk, Belgium.
Behavioural Ecology and Ecophysiology Group, Department of Biology, University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610, Wilrijk, Belgium.
Chemosphere. 2024 Sep;364:143208. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.143208. Epub 2024 Aug 28.
Homegrown crops can present a significant exposure source of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to humans. Field studies studying PFAS accumulation in multiple vegetable food categories and examining the potential influence of soil characteristics on vegetable bioavailability under realistic exposure conditions are very scarce. Crop PFAS accumulation depends on a complex combination of factors. The physicochemical differences among the numerous PFAS makes risk assessment very challenging. Thus, simplification of this complexity into key factors that govern crop PFAS accumulation is critical. This study analyzed 29 targeted legacy, precursor and emerging PFAS in the vertical soil profile (0-45 cm depth), rainwater and edible crop parts of 88 private gardens, at different distances from a major fluorochemical plant. Gardens closer to the plant site showed higher soil concentrations which could be linked with historical and recent industrial emissions. Most compounds showed little variation along the soil depth profile, regardless of the distance from the plant site, which could be due to gardening practices. Annual crops consistently accumulated higher sum PFAS concentrations than perennials. Highest concentrations were observed in vegetables, followed by fruits and walnuts. Single soil-crop relationships were weak, which indicated that other factors (e.g., porewater) may be better measures of bioavailability in homegrown crop accumulation. Regression models, which additionally considered soil characteristics showed limited predictive power (all R ≤ 35%), possibly due to low variability in crop concentrations. Human intake estimations revealed that the PFAS exposure risk via crop consumption was similar nearby and remotely from the plant site, although the contribution to the overall dietary exposure can be relatively large. The tolerable weekly intake was frequently exceeded with respect to fruit and vegetable consumption, thus potential health risks cannot be ruled out.
本土种植的农作物可能是人类接触全氟和多氟烷基物质（PFAS）的一个重要来源。实地研究表明，在现实暴露条件下，研究多种蔬菜食品类别中 PFAS 的积累情况，并考察土壤特性对蔬菜生物利用度的潜在影响的研究非常匮乏。农作物 PFAS 的积累取决于复杂的综合因素。众多 PFAS 之间的理化差异使得风险评估极具挑战性。因此，将这种复杂性简化为控制农作物 PFAS 积累的关键因素至关重要。本研究分析了 88 个私人花园的垂直土壤剖面（0-45 厘米深度）、雨水和可食用作物部分的 29 种目标传统、前体和新兴 PFAS，这些花园距离一家主要氟化学品工厂的距离不同。距离工厂较近的花园土壤浓度较高，这可能与历史和近期的工业排放有关。大多数化合物在土壤深度剖面中变化不大，无论距离工厂远近，这可能与园艺实践有关。一年生作物的总 PFAS 浓度始终高于多年生作物。蔬菜中浓度最高，其次是水果和核桃。单一土壤-作物关系较弱，这表明其他因素（例如，孔隙水）可能是衡量本土种植作物积累中生物利用度的更好指标。考虑到土壤特性的回归模型显示出有限的预测能力（所有 R≤35%），这可能是由于作物浓度的变化较小。人类摄入量估计表明，通过食用农作物摄入 PFAS 的风险在工厂附近和远离工厂的地方相似，尽管其对整体饮食暴露的贡献可能相对较大。就水果和蔬菜的消费而言，每周耐受摄入量经常被超过，因此不能排除潜在的健康风险。
