Risk assessment of dietary exposure to pesticide residues in vegetables of residents in Inner Mongolia

Abstract

ObjectiveTo investigate the pesticide residues in vegetables in Inner Mongolia and assess the dietary exposure risk.MethodsUsing the data of pesticide residues in vegetables from the 2016—2019 risk monitoring in Inner Mongolia， combined with the food consumption data of the residents in Inner Mongolia in the 2012 National Total Diet Study， the food safety index method and the acute dietary intake risk assessment model were used to conduct risk assessments.ResultsFrom 2016 to 2019， a total of 9 types and 15 106 vegetable samples were tested. Organophosphorus， organochlorine， carbamate and pyrethroid pesticides were detected. The overall detection rates were 0.98% （72/7 315）， 3.43% （109/3 178）， 4.44% （56/1 261） and 0.30% （10/3 352）， respectively. Among the four categories， there were some samples violating the stardards， including omethoate （0.05%，4/7 315）， phorate （0.16%，12/7 315）， chlorpyrifos （0.10%，7/7 315）， isofenphos-methyl（0.01%）， hydrocarbophos（0.01%）， methamphetamine （0.01%，1/7 315）， procymidone （0.09%，3/3 178）， chlorothalonil （0.03%，1/3 178）， cyhalothrin （0.32%，4/1 261）and amino carbofuran （0.09%，3/3 352）. The assessment results showed that the food safety index （IFS） was less than 1 based on the average pesticide residue concentration Ri， and the risk was acceptable. But there were some risks of phorate， triazophos， methophos， chlorothalonil and cyhalothrin based on the maximum value of Ri. The results of acute exposure assessment showed that there was acute risk with 1.42 mg/kg of phorate in tomatoes.ConclusionAll four types of pesticides in vegetables had been detected， and some had exceeded the standard. There were some health risks for phorate， triazophos， methophos， chlorothalonil and cyhalothrin when the food safety index method （IFS） was applied with the maximum value of the pesticide residue concentration Ri. The results of the acute exposure assessment indicate that there was an acute health risk of ingesting phorate through tomatoes. It was recommended that relevant departments strengthen the supervision of the use of prohibited and restricted pesticides to better protect the health of local residents.

Keywords

• inner mongolia
• vegetables
• pesticide residues
• risk assessment