A systematic risk characterization related to the dietary exposure of the population to potentially toxic elements through the ingestion of fruit and vegetables from a potentially contaminated area. A case study: The issue of the "Land of Fires" area in Campania region, Italy. (December 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Esposito, Francesco; Nardone, Antonio; Fasano, Evelina; Scognamiglio, Gelsomina; Esposito, Daniela; Agrelli, Diana; Ottaiano, Lucia; Fagnano, Massimo; Adamo, Paola; Beccaloni, Eleonora; Vanni, Fabiana; Cirillo, Teresa
• Is Part Of: Environmental pollution. Volume 243(2018)Part B
• Page Start: 1781
• Page End: 1790
• Publication Date: 2018-12
• Subjects: Heavy metals -- Risk assessment -- Agroecosystem pollution -- Human health -- Anthropogenic pollution -- Maximum cumulative ratio; Pollution -- Periodicals; Pollution -- Environmental aspects -- Periodicals; Environmental Pollution -- Periodicals; Pollution -- Périodiques; Pollution -- Aspect de l'environnement -- Périodiques; Pollution -- Effets physiologiques -- Périodiques; Pollution; Pollution -- Environmental aspects; Periodicals; Electronic journals; 363.73
• DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2018.09.058
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0269-7491

Abstract

Abstract: Potentially toxic elements are widespread soil contaminants, whose occurrence could entail a concern for human health upon ingestion of fruit and vegetables harvested in a polluted area. This work set out to evaluate the concentrations of lead and cadmium as well as the levels of thirteen heavy metals for which a limit value is yet to be established by the food safety authorities, in order to perform a risk characterization related to the dietary intake of these metals and to provide a scientific opinion with wider relevance in the light of current worldwide regulatory issues. The sampling consisted of fruit and vegetables grown in a potentially contaminated area of southern Italy due to the illegal dump of hazardous wastes. An evaluation of the dietary exposure through the calculation of the Hazard Index (HI), the Maximum Cumulative Ratio (MCR) and the Target Cancer Risk (TCR) was adopted to this end. The results revealed that about the 30% of samples showed quantifiable levels of chemicals and no significant difference emerged between the potentially polluted area and the nearby cities that were selected as a control landfill site. The overall risk characterization for non-carcinogenic endpoints showed that the HI did not reach unsafe values, except for a small number of samples mainly because of aberrant occurrences and, in any case, the cumulative toxicity was mainly driven by thallium and vanadium. As far as the carcinogenic effects of arsenic are concerned, the distribution of TCR values broadly lay below the safety threshold; a certain percentage of data, however, exceeded this limit and should be taken into account for the enforcement of future regulatory thresholds. Graphical abstract: Image 1 Highlights: This study was based on the remarkable issue of the "Land of Fires". No significant difference emerged between the two areas in terms of concentrations of metals in food. A low percentage of samples was related to not negligible non-carcinogenic endpoints. The cumulative toxic effect was mainly driven by 2 out of 13 metals. The findings may have a bearing on the enforcement of future regulatory thresholds. Abstract : An approach based on the analysis of Maximum Cumulative Effect and of the Total Hazard Quotients was proposed to tackle an important environmental pollution issue.