Uptake of Galaxolide, Tonalide, and Triclosan by Carrot, Barley, and Meadow Fescue Plants

Abstract

Many xenobiotics entering wastewater treatment plants are known to be persistent during wastewater treatment and tend to adsorb to sewage sludge. The application of sewage sludge as fertilizer in agriculture may pose the risk of an incorporation of xenobiotics in the cultivated plants and, finally, an inclusion into the food chain. This study was performed to investigate the uptake of common sewage sludge contaminants, galaxolide, tonalide, and triclosan, by plants used for human consumption and livestock feeding. Barley, meadow fescue, and four carrot cultivars were sown and grown in spiked soils under greenhouse conditions. After harvesting the plants, roots and leaves were analyzed separately, and the respective bioconcentration factors were calculated. In carrots, a concentration gradient of the xenobiotics became evident that decreased from the root peel via root core to the leaves. A significant influence of the differing root lipid contents on the uptake rates cannot be supported by our data, but the crucial influence of soil organic carbon content was confirmed. Barley and meadow fescue roots incorporated higher amounts of the target substances than carrots, but translocation into the leaves was negligible. The results indicated that an introduction of persistent semi- and nonpolar xenobiotics into the food chain via edible plants like carrots could be of certain relevance when sludge is applied as fertilizer. Due to low rates found for the translocation of the xenobiotics into the aerial plant parts, the entrance pathway into food products via feeding livestock is less probable.

Environmental fates of synthetic musks in animal and plant: An in vivo study

“…The poor bioaccumulation capacity of the polycyclic musks in leaf was observed in previous studies. The only work reported by Macherius et al showed that the BCFs in carrot leaf grown in spiked soil were 0.76 and 0.18 for HHCB and AHTN (Macherius et al, 2012), respectively, which generally agrees with the results in this study. However, the environmental fates of nitro musks in plants have not been reported.…”

Comparison of accelerated solvent extraction and quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged and safe method for extraction and determination of pharmaceuticals in vegetables

“…Currently, the QuEChERS method has been extended to determine pharmaceuticals in eggs, meats, fish and sewage sludge [25,32,33]; however, few studies were conducted to quantify pharmaceuticals in vegetables and crop produce using the QuECh-ERS method [34]. Salvia et al [35] showed that both ASE and a modified QuEChERS method could effectively extract multiple classes of pharmaceuticals from soils.…”

Effects of triclosan, diclofenac, and nonylphenol on mesophilic and thermophilic methanogenic activity and on the methanogenic communities

“…These sludges are typically used as substrates in anaerobic reactors. Additionally, many of these micropollutants are used in the livestock industry and through the animal slurry they end up in the manurebased anaerobic reactors [9,10]. The adverse impacts of all the micropollutants on the manure-based AD reactors are not clear yet.…”