Multi-residue determination of pesticides in vegetables and assessment of human health risks in Western Himalayan region of India

• Published in: Environmental monitoring and assessment 2022-05, Vol.194 (5), p.332-332, Article 332
• Main Authors: Sharma, Neelam, Kumar, Atul, Singh, Siddhartha, Kumar, Suresh, Joshi, Robin
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Agricultural practices; Alachlor; Aldrin; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Child; Children; Chlorpyrifos; Climatic zones; Diet; Dietary intake; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecology; Ecotoxicology; Endosulfan; Endosulfan - analysis; Environment; Environmental Management; Environmental Monitoring; Environmental science; Food; Food Contamination - analysis; Food intake; Food safety; Gas chromatography; Health risk assessment; Health risks; Heptachlor; Heptachlor - analysis; Herbicides; Humans; Insecticides; Malathion; Metribuzin; Monitoring/Environmental Analysis; Pendimethalin; Pesticide residues; Pesticide Residues - analysis; Pesticides; Pesticides - analysis; Residues; Risk Assessment; Safety regulations; Vegetables; Vegetables - chemistry
• ISSN: 0167-6369; 1573-2959
• DOI: 10.1007/s10661-022-09992-9

This study was aimed to determine pesticides concentrations in fresh vegetables and assess human health risks in North-Western Himalayan region of India. Vegetable samples ( n  = 300) collected randomly from different agro-climatic zones were analyzed for 19 pesticides using gas chromatography. Pesticide residues were detected in 116 samples, of which 49 samples exceeded maximum permissible limits established by European Commission. Hexaconazole was most frequently detected in 9.3% samples followed by aldrin (8.3%), alachlor (5.3%), bifenthrin (4.3%), chlorpyrifos (3.7%), metribuzin (2.7%), β-endosulfan, ethion, β-HCH (2%, each), γ-HCH (1.3%), α-HCH, δ-HCH, malathion, heptachlor (1%, each), and α-endosulfan, pendimethalin in 0.7% samples. Human health risk assessment revealed that the percent contribution to acceptable daily intakes of pesticides via dietary intake of vegetables ranged from 0.014 to 39.4% in children and 0.003 to 9.85% in adults. Although hazard index values were