Occurrence, Distribution, and Risk Assessment of Organophosphorus Pesticides in the Aquatic Environment of the Sele River Estuary, Southern Italy

Abstract

The intensive use of organophosphorus pesticides (OPPs) causes concern among authorities in different countries, as many of them, remaining unchanged for a long time, pose a threat to environmental sustainability. This study assessed the spatio-temporal trends of nine OPPs in the water dissolved phase (WDP), suspended particulate matter (SPM), and sediment samples from the Sele River estuary, Southern Italy. Samples were collected in 10 sampling sites during four seasons. The highest levels were found at the mouth (mean value 28.25 ng L−1 as WDP + SPM) and then decreased moving southwards to the Mediterranean Sea. Moreover, highest concentrations were detected in the warm season (July) with a mean value of 27.52 ng L−1. The load contribution to the Mediterranean Sea was evaluated in about 61.5 kg year−1, showing that the river was an important source of OPPs through discharge into the sea. The risk assessment revealed that no high-risk indices for the general-case scenario were observed, but for the worst-case scenario, potential risks were associated with chlorpyrifos, pyrimifos-methyl, and parathion, suggesting that OPP contamination should not be neglected. This study makes up the first record of OPPs in the surface waters of the Sele River and provides helpful data as a starting point for future studies.

Assessing Heavy Metals in the Sele River Estuary: An Overview of Pollution Indices in Southern Italy

“…Water samples were collected in four different seasons to assess the spatio-temporal trends in HM concentrations near the Sele River estuary. The sampling was carried out during 2020–2021 in summer (July), autumn (November), winter (February), and spring (April) [ 33 , 35 , 36 ]. For sediment, samples were collected only in one season (April).…”

“…For lower LOQ levels, an LOQ half-value was used. The flow-averaged mean concentration (C aw ) and annual contaminant loads (F annual ) were obtained according to UNEP guidelines [ 43 ], based on Equations (1) and (2), respectively: where Q T represents the total river input for the study period, assessed using the sum of the monthly averaged water flow; C i is the instantaneous amount; and Q i is the load, expressed as the daily water flow average in kg/year [ 33 , 35 ]. In detail, the cumulative loads of heavy metals (HMs) introduced into the Mediterranean Sea from the Sele River were computed by taking into account the concentration values of individual contaminants at the river mouth during the four months of sampling.…”

“…Being relatively shallow, semi-enclosed, and with limited natural water exchange, the Mediterranean Sea tends to accumulate contaminant inputs rather than disperse them [ 28 , 29 , 30 ]. In addition, even if in prolific reality rich arable fields are processed using the best farming techniques, several industrial activities in the Sele River plain can generate high loads of chemicals, including HMs, thus having negative effects on the ecosystem and causing health problems and environmental deterioration [ 31 , 32 , 33 ].…”

Biosynthesized Metallic Nanoarchitecture for Photocatalytic Degradation of Emerging Organochlorine and Organophosphate Pollutants: A Review

“…This process involves three phases: water, soil, and gas, as well as physicochemical‐biological processes that carry a significant ecological risk and involve volatilization, adsorption, and degradation [41] . Pollutants that have been exposed to the ground will not only immediately contaminate the soil but also surface runoff, groundwater leaching, downstream migration along the groundwater, and finally accumulation in organisms [42] (Figure 3). The more advanced organisms, the higher the amount of pesticide residues in the body and, consequently, the possible hazards to human health, according to the developmental trends in the ecological chain [43] .…”

Hydrocarbons occurrence and transcriptomic response of oyster Crassostrea virginica from lagoons of the Southern Gulf of Mexico

“…In the case of diagnostic ratio, it is based on the relative abundance of the individual or specific groups of AHs or PAHs and is applied to identify hydrocarbon sources in the marine environment (Dashtbozorg et al, 2019;Wu et al, 2021). Unlike exposure tests in the laboratory where the origin of hydrocarbons is known, in the environment, the origin of hydrocarbons in the different matrixes (water, soil and tissue) is an incognita, so the application of diagnostic ratios is usual as a frame of reference (Montuori et al, 2022).…”