Maclean Jascika A A, Bartelt-Hunt Shannon, Snow Daniel D, Borsuah Josephus F, Becker Raquel Wielens, Hazra Moushumi
Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Nebraska Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68588, USA.
Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of Nebraska Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68588, USA.
J Hazard Mater. 2025 Mar 15;486:136922. doi: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.136922. Epub 2024 Dec 16.
Little is known about the potential impact of point source contamination from seed treatment pesticide residues and degradation products in waste products in treated seed. The presence of these pesticides and their degradation products in the environment has been associated with toxic effects on non-target organisms including bees, aquatic organisms and humans. In this study, we investigated the occurrence of twenty-two pesticide residues and their degradation products in two streams receiving runoff from land-applied wet cake, applied and spilled wastewater originating at a biofuels production facility using pesticide-treated seed as a feedstock. Monthly grab and passive samples were taken between April 2021 to November 2023 and analyzed using liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Eighteen out of twenty-two target pesticide residues were detected at concentrations ranging up to 344 µg/L. Results revealed varying detection frequencies and concentrations of pesticides, with clothianidin (98.6 %), thiamethoxam (97.2 %), and the degradation product imidacloprid desnitro (95.3 %) among the most frequently detected compounds. Spatial distributions indicate higher levels pesticide concentrations occurred in an intermittent waterway downstream from a wastewater spill occurring at the facility prior to monitoring. The risk quotient analysis shows that except for the most upstream (nonpoint source) location, at least one sample from each site posed elevated exposure risk for three different trophic levels (Algae, Daphnia magna and Fathead Minnow). Acute and chronic aquatic toxicity benchmarks set by US EPA for aquatic invertebrates were exceeded due to elevated concentrations of imidacloprid, clothianidin and thiamethoxam in both waterways. Few, if any studies have documented the occurrence of neonicotinoid degradation products at these concentrations in aquatic environments, and concentrations of desnitro imidacloprid at up to 85 µg/L are particularly concerning, given its reported toxicity. Findings from the study highlight the risks of using pesticide-treated seed as a feedstock for ethanol production.
关于处理过的种子中种子处理农药残留和废弃物降解产物造成的点源污染的潜在影响，人们了解甚少。这些农药及其降解产物在环境中的存在已被证明会对包括蜜蜂、水生生物和人类在内的非目标生物产生毒性影响。在本研究中，我们调查了两条溪流中22种农药残留及其降解产物的出现情况，这两条溪流接收来自使用农药处理种子作为原料的生物燃料生产设施施用和溢出的废水以及土地施用湿饼径流。在2021年4月至2023年11月期间每月采集抓取和被动样本，并使用液相色谱/串联质谱法（LC-MS/MS）进行分析。在22种目标农药残留中，有18种被检测到，浓度高达344μg/L。结果显示农药的检测频率和浓度各不相同，其中噻虫胺（98.6%）、噻虫嗪（97.2%）和降解产物脱硝基吡虫啉（95.3%）是检测频率最高的化合物。空间分布表明，在监测前该设施发生废水泄漏的下游间歇性水道中，农药浓度较高。风险商数分析表明，除了最上游（非点源）位置外，每个地点至少有一个样本对三种不同营养级（藻类、大型蚤和黑头呆鱼）构成了较高的暴露风险。由于两条水道中吡虫啉、噻虫胺和噻虫嗪的浓度升高，超过了美国环境保护局为水生无脊椎动物设定的急性和慢性水生毒性基准。很少有研究记录在这些浓度下新烟碱类降解产物在水生环境中的出现情况，鉴于其已报道的毒性，高达85μg/L的脱硝基吡虫啉浓度尤其令人担忧。该研究结果突出了使用农药处理种子作为乙醇生产原料的风险。
