Pollution Assessment with Persistent Organic Pollutants in Upper Soil of a Series of Rural Roma Communities in Transylvania, Romania, Its Sources Apportionment, and the Associated Risk on Human Health

Vlad-Alexandru Pănescu, Victor Bocoș-Bințințan (), Mihaela-Cătălina Herghelegiu, Radu-Tudor Coman, Vidar Berg, Jan Ludvig Lyche and Mihail Simion Beldean-Galea ()
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Vlad-Alexandru Pănescu: Faculty of Environmental Science and Engineering, Babeş-Bolyai University, 30 Fântânele Str., 400294 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Victor Bocoș-Bințințan: Faculty of Environmental Science and Engineering, Babeş-Bolyai University, 30 Fântânele Str., 400294 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Mihaela-Cătălina Herghelegiu: Faculty of Environmental Science and Engineering, Babeş-Bolyai University, 30 Fântânele Str., 400294 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Radu-Tudor Coman: Faculty of Medicine, “Iuliu Hațieganu” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 8 Babeș Str., 400012 Cluj-Napoca, Romania
Vidar Berg: Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, 1433 Ås, Norway
Jan Ludvig Lyche: Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, 1433 Ås, Norway
Mihail Simion Beldean-Galea: Faculty of Environmental Science and Engineering, Babeş-Bolyai University, 30 Fântânele Str., 400294 Cluj-Napoca, Romania

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-16

Abstract: This paper aims to assess the pollution by determining the sources of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in 22 rural Roma communities in Transylvania in order to assess the human health risk associated with this exposure. For this, 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), 20 organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and 12 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were determined in 22 soil samples collected from selected areas by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry for PAHs and with electron capture detector for all halogenated compounds. Target compounds were isolated from soil by ultrasound-assisted extraction. We found that POP concentrations in soil ranged from 4.86 to 451.85 ng/g dw for PAHs, from 25.62 to 139.30 ng/g dw for OCPs, and from 0.22 to 49.12 ng/g dw for PCBs. The diagnostic ratios Ʃ LMW /Ʃ HMW , ANT/(ANT + PHE), and FLT/(FLT + PYR) strongly suggest a pyrogenic model of PAHs, such as biomass, coal, and petroleum combustion, while the isomer ratios Ʃ DDT /Ʃ HCH , α-HCH/γ-HCH and (DDE + DDD)/Ʃ DDT suggest that OCP residues originate from their ancient uses. Non-carcinogenic (HI) and carcinogenic (CR) risks of these organic compounds present in the soil through non-dietary pathways were in the very low-risk category (ranging from 10 −8 to 10 −4 ), indicating an absence of these risks from the investigated POPs in the studied area.

Keywords: persistent organic pollutants; organochlorine pesticides; polychlorobiphenyls; polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons; soil; human health risk (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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