In order to investigate organophosphorus pesticides (OPs) concentrations in maize and estimate the health risk to consumers, a total of 55 samples were collected from Yushu, one of the most important maize production areas. The concentrations of the eleven detected OPs in maize were analyzed by gas chromatography coupled with flame photometric detector (GC-FPD). The results showed that OPs concentrations of all maize were not higher than maximum residue limit (MRL), 67.3% of samples below MRL and only in 32.7% of samples was not found OPs. The mean concentrations obtained for the eleven OPs in g kg(-1) were as follows: omethoate (0.8), quinalphos (0.8), phorate (0.7), dimethoate (0.7), parathion-methyl (0.6), isocarbophos (0.6), diazinon (0.5), fenitrothion (0.5), and malathion (0.5), with parathion (0.5) and fenthion (0.3). Phorate (16.4%), dimethoate (16.4%) and quinalphos (16.4%) had the highest frequency in the eleven OPs. 29.1% samples contained two or more kinds of OPs, while 38.2% samples detected one kind of OPs. The target hazard quotients (THQ) values were all less than one and the total acute hazard index (aHI) values for adults and children were 0.051 and 0.121, respectively indicating that consumer may not pose significant chronic and acute health risk through maize.

To investigate heavy metal accumulation in soils and evaluate health risk through maize consumption, a total of 196 soils and 55 maize samples were collected from Yushu, China, one of the most important maize production bases. The mean contents of Cd, Cr, Cu, Zn and Pb were 0.119, 56.51, 19.21, 70.58, and 34.42 mg kg(-1) for soils and were 0.014, 0.68, 1.33, 17.15 and 0.02 mg kg(-1) for maize, respectively. The contents of Cr, Cu, Zn and Pb in all soil and maize samples did not exceed safety thresholds, but the percentages of Cd content above guideline values of Chinese Environmental Quality Standards for Soil and maximum permissible limits for maize were 6.6% and 1.8%, respectively. The spatial distribution and correlation analysis suggested that Cr and Cu in soil were of lithogenic origin, while Zn and Pb were associated with coal combustion exhausts and chemical fertilizer application. The main source of Cd may be phosphate fertilizer application. The average target hazard quotients were all less than 1 and the average hazard index for adults was 0.065, indicating that there was not a potential health risk through maize.

Due to rapid industrialization and urbanization, lands under suburban agriculture are the worst affected by the contamination of heavy metals. The objective of this study was to assess the extent and severity of metal contamination in suburban vegetable fields under different planting time. Forty-four top soil samples were collected from suburban vegetable plots under five levels of planting time in Songyuan, China. The study results showed that heavy metal concentrations of Pb, Cr, Cu, Ni, Zn and Cd in soils varied from 13.5 to 40.9, 26.8 to 47.9, 7.7 to 40.2, 13.0 to 27.7, 63.8 to 189.6, and 0.06 to 0.32 mg kg(-1), respectively. The contents of Pb, Cu and Zn in suburban vegetable soils had obvious trend of escalation with the increase of planting time. The assessment results of PI indicated that there was obvious pollution of Zn and Cd in some fields, which were classified as High PI. Besides that, the comprehensive assessment results of IPI further showed that the IPI values in study area were greater than 1 in the long-term cultivation fields (above 20 years), indicating the soil quality has clearly been impacted, particularly those areas cultivated for several decades.

This study was designed to investigate organophosphorus pesticides (OPs) concentrations in fresh vegetables and estimate potential health risks to inhabitants. A total of 214 samples of seven types of vegetables were collected from Changchun, the capital of Jilin province, one of the most important vegetable production areas. The eleven OPs were analyzed by gas chromatography coupled with flame photometric detector (GC-FPD). Results showed that 23.4% of samples contained OPs above maximum residue limit (MRL), 68.7% of samples below MRL and only 7.9% of samples were found free of OPs. Detection rates of OPs decreased in the following order: diazinon (82.2%) > phorate (45.8%) > dimethoate (29.4%) > parathion-methyl (27.6%) > omethoate (23.8%) > dichlorvos (22.9%) > fenitrothion (21%) > fenthion (18.7%) > parathion (18.2%) > methamidophos (17.3%) > malathion (12.1%). The OPs levels were higher for leafy than for non-leafy vegetables. The percentages of OPs above MRL: welsh onion (82.5%) > radish (37.5%) > pepper (17.2%) > Chinese cabbage (14.3%) > cucumber (3.2%) > eggplant (2.9%) > tomato (0%). 49.5% samples contained two or more OPs. The average target hazard quotients (ave THQ) were all less than one and the average Hazard Index (ave HI) for adults and children were 0.448 and 0.343, respectively. It is concluded that inhabitants who are exposed to average OPs levels may not be endangered by health risk. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The aim of this study was to investigate organophosphorus pesticides (OPs) concentrations in rice grains and estimate potential health risk to inhabitants. A total of 102 rice samples were collected from the Irrigated Area of Songhua River, located in Jilin province, one of the most important rice production areas and a key agricultural area in China. The twelve OPs were determined by gas chromatography coupled with flame photometric detector. Results showed that OPs concentrations in rice grains did not exceed maximum residue limit. The mean concentrations obtained for the detected twelve OPs in mg kg-(1) were as follows: omethoate (0.60), diazinon (0.56), parathion-methyl (0.54), dimethoate (0.38), isocarbophos (0.38), phorate (0.31), fenitrothion (0.24), parathion (0.23), fenthion (0.23), malathion (0.13), dichlorvos (0.13), and methamidophos (0.08). Diazinon (39.2%), omethoate (31.4%), and parathion-methyl (25.5%) had the highest frequency in the detected twelve OPs. 69.6% of samples contained more than one OP, 24.5% of samples detected one OP, and only 5.9% samples did not find any OPs. The average target hazard quotients were all less than one and average hazard index for adults and children were 0.273 and 0.238, respectively. Overall, results indicated that the intake of rice may be safe for consumers.

In order to investigate the residual situation of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in vegetable soils in different industrial cities in China, we analyzed the concentration , composition and sources of 11 kinds of PCBs in suburban vegetable topsoils of Changchun and Jilin cities, Jilin Province, and used the health risk assessment method to evaluate the non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risk of PCBs pollution to exposed population .The results indicated that the mean residual quantity of PCBs in suburban vegetable soils in Jilin city was 111.0 μg?kg-1 , 32.54%higher than that in Changchun city .Two cities were all given priority to high chlorinated PCBs .Principal com-ponent analysis revealed that PCBs pollution in Changchun suburban vegetable soils mainly related to transportation , automobile exhaust , paint and other industries;while the PCBs in Jilin suburban vegetable soils mainly came from the petroleum chemical industry , power in-dustry etc.Health risk assessment showed that the cumulative non-carcinogenic in children and adults in the industrial land and residential land didn’ t exceed acceptable levels, the non-carcinogenic risk of PCBs was small.However, in the residential land, the cumulative carcinogenic risk of children caused by multiple exposure ways exceeded the acceptable level (10-6 ) .

The purpose of this study was to investigate the total and available concentrations of Pb, Cr, Cu, Ni, and Zn in the vegetable soils from the outskirts of a heavy industry city, Northeast China, and to assess the sources of heavy metals and their availability. The average concentrations of Pb, Cu, and Zn were significantly higher than their background values of Changchun topsoil. Principal component analysis, cluster analysis, and geostatistical analysis results suggested that Pb, Cu, and Zn were consistently from anthropogenic sources, while Cr and Ni were from natural sources with low concentrations. Kriging results showed that several hotspots of high metal concentration were identified by the geochemical maps and caused by different environmental factors. Although the available (ethylene-diamine-tetraacetic acid-extractable) fractions showed much lower values than total concentrations of metals, Pb and Cu had relatively high AR(a) (average availability ratio of metals) values. Our findings show that most of the studied metals had accumulated to some extent in vegetable soils and several hotspots of high metal concentration appeared at the peri-urban of Changchun. The concentrations of some metals in peri-urban vegetable soils have been largely affected by anthropogenic activities. Appropriate measures should be taken to effectively control heavy metal levels in vegetable soils and thus protect human health.

The particle fractions of soil influence the retention and availability of heavy metal. However, the accumulations of Cu in aggregate size fractions of apple orchard soils due to the long-term application of Cu-based fungicides remain poorly understood. This study aimed to investigate the distribution and availability of Cu in various aggregate fractions of soils from different aged apple orchards.

This study aims to investigate the concentrations of organophosphorus pesticides (OPs) in fresh vegetables. A total of Z14 samples from seven types of vegetables were collected from the suburb in Changchun City. The OPs were analyzed by gas chromatography coupled with flame photometric detector (GC-FPD). Target hazard quotients (THQ) were applied to estimate the potential health risk to inhabitants. Results showed that OPs concentrations exceeded the Maximum Residue Limit (MRL) in more than 23. 4% samples, and were not detected in only 7. 9% samples. Detection rates of OPs was as follow in the decreased order: diazinon (82. 2%) > phorate (45. 8%) > dimethoate (29. 4%) > parathion-methyl (27. 6%) > omethoate (23. 8%) > dichlorvos (22. 9%) > fenitrothion (21%) > fenthion (18. 7%) > parathion (18. 2%) > methamidophos (17. 3%) > malathion (12. 1%). The percentages above MRL for leaves were higher than for non-leafy vegetables. The order of percentages of OPs above MRL was as follows: green onion (82. 5%) > radish (37. 5%) > red pepper (17. 2%) > Chinese vegetable (14. 3%) > cucumber (3. 2%) > eggplant (2. 9%) > tomato (0%). 49. 5% vegetables samples showed more than one OP. The average target hazard quotients (ave THQ) were all less than one and the average Hazard Index (ave HI) was 0. 462, so that inhabitants who expose average OP levels may not experience adverse health effects.

Abstract. Twenty years of in situ soil moisture data from more than 300 stations located in China are used to perform an evaluation of two surface soil moisture datasets: a microwave-based multi-satellite product (ECV-SM) and the land surface model simulation from the Community Land Model 4.5 (CLM4.5). Both soil moisture products generally show a good agreement with in situ observations. The ECV-SM product has a low bias, with a root mean square difference (RMSD) of 0.075 m3 m-3, but shows a weak correlation with in situ observations (R = 0.41). In contrast, the CLM4.5 simulation, forced by an observation-based atmospheric forcing data, produces better temporal variation of surface soil moisture (R = 0.52), but shows a clear overestimation (bias = 0.05 m3 m-3) and larger RMSD (0.09 m3 m-3), especially in eastern China, caused by inaccurate descriptions of soil characteristics. The ECV-SM product is more likely to be superior in semi-arid regions, mainly because of the accurate retrievals and high observation density, but inferior over areas covered by dense vegetation. Furthermore, it shows a stable to slightly increasing performance in China, except for a decrease during the 2007–2010 blending period. Results from this study can provide comprehensive insight into the performances of the two soil moisture datasets in China, which will be useful for their improvements in merging algorithms or model simulations and for applications in soil moisture data assimilation.

Polychlorinated biphenyls(PCBs)have contaminated agricultural soils. In order to investigate residues and ecological risks of polychlorinated biphenyls(PCBs)in vegetable soils in Jilin suburbs, we analyzed concentrations and distribution characteristics of 11 PCBs in the vegetable topsoils from Jilin suburbs, assessed the ecological risks using environmental quality standard and toxicity equivalent factor. The total concentrations of PCBs in the vegetable soils varied greatly, ranging from 58.20 μg·kg-1 to 253.08μg·kg-1, with an average con-centration of 111.00μg·kg-1. The total concentrations of PCBs in some areas exceeded the secondary standard of the national soil environ-mental quality, indicating potential risks in the vegetable fields. Soil PCBs were mainly five- or more ring congeners. The highest concentra-tion of PCBs was found in the northern suburbs, where chemical plants were highly concentrated, showing the impact of human activities on the environmental quality of vegetable soils in this area. Principal component analysis revealed that the principal component 1 contributed 31.67%to the variance, mainly from paint, insulation materials and other industrial products. The principal component 2 made 20.05%con-tribution to the variance, which resulted from power capacitor impregnant. The percent contribution of principal component 3 and 4 were re-spectively 11.16%and 9.62%, which were waste incineration and volatilization of PCBs in plasticizer. Overall, the pollution level or toxic e-quivalence of PCBs in vegetable soils of Jilin suburbs was at a moderate level, and posed a potential ecological risk. Attentions should be paid to their threats to human health.

Assessing the concentration of potentially harmful heavy metals in the case of soils in urban parks and squares that are used for leisure, sporting or recreational activities is imperative in order to evaluate the potential risks to residents and tourists. The concentrations of heavy metals (Pb, Cr, Cu, Ni, Zn, and Cd) in urban soils of 7 parks and 5 squares of Changchun, Northeast China, were measured based on different functional areas. The median concentrations of Pb, Cr, Cu, Ni, Zn and Cd in the investigated urban soils are 52.26, 63.00, 31.40, 16.02, 118.05 and 0.084 mg kg 1, respectively. The values of Pb, Cu and Zn are significantly higher than their background values of Changchun topsoil that average 20.46, 17.96 and 59.47 mg kg(-1). The integrated pollution index (IPI) of these six metals ranged from 1.17 to 3.65, with the highest UPI in the recreation area of the Children's Park. The results of multivariate statistical analysis (principal components analysis and hierarchical cluster analysis) indicated that Cr and Ni concentrations were mainly of natural origin, while Pb, Cu, Zn and Cd were derived from anthropogenic activities. The findings presented here show that the difference of functional areas in parks and squares is an important factor in determining the extent of heavy metal, and the level of pollution in some soils of recreation areas in parks and outside areas in squares was very high.

The content, source, and spatial distribution of heavy metals in soils are necessary to establish quality standard on a regional level, to assess the potential threat of metals to food safety and human health and to target policies of environment friendly and significant economic benefits.

The residents health risk of Pb, Cd and Cu exposure to street dust with different particle sizes (<100 and <63 μm) near Huludao Zinc Plant (HZP) was investigated in this study. The average concentrations of Pb, Cd and Cu in the <100-μm and <63-μm dust were 1,559, 178.5, 917.9 and 2,099, 198.4, 1,038 mg kg−1, respectively. It showed that smaller particles tended to contain higher element concentrations. Metals in dust around HZP decreased gradually from the zinc smelter to west and east directions. There was significantly positive correlation among Pb, Cd and Cu in street dust with different particle sizes. The contents of Pb, Cd and Cu in dust increased with decreasing pH or increasing organic matter. Non-carcinogenic health risk assessment showed that the health index (HI) for children and adult exposed to <63-μm particles were higher than exposed to <100-μm particles, which indicated that smaller particles tend to have higher non-carcinogenic health risk. Non-carcinogenic risk of Pb was the highest in both particle sizes, followed by Cd and Cu. HI for Pb and Cd in both particle sizes for children had exceeded the acceptable value, indicated that children living around HZP were experiencing the non-carcinogenic health risk from Pb and Cd exposure to street dust.

Little information is known about the tolerance mechanisms of apple trees growing in soils with excess Cu. This study investigated not only the accumulation and translocation of Cu in the organs of two apple tree cultivars (Fuji and Rails), but also the detoxification mechanisms of their roots at the cell level. Most accumulated Cu was within apple tree root, especially in the fibrous root, for both cultivars. Compared with Fuji, Rails had significantly higher Cu concentrations in roots, especially for fibrous roots, while lower concentrations in the aboveground parts. Combining the results from subcellular distribution and chemical forms in the fibrous roots of two apple tree cultivars, more Cu amounts were sequestrated in cell wall and vacuole for Rails and Cu accumulated in the fibrous root of Fuji had higher in vivo mobility. The results of this study implied that different apple tree cultivars differ in the accumulation, transportation and tolerance to toxic levels of soil Cu, and the chemical forms and subcellular partitioning of Cu in the fibrous roots can elucidate some of the variation of apple trees in Cu sensitivity. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The content, source, and pollution level of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in soils are necessary to assess potential risks to eco-environment and human health, and to target environment-friendly policies. A total of 50 surface soil samples were collected from urban vegetable fields of Jilin City and thirteen OCPs were analyzed. The concentrations were in the ranges of 3.16-48.35ngg(-1) for Dichloro-Diphenyl-Tricgloroethanes (DDTs, sum of o, p-DDT, p, p-DDT, p, p-DDD, and p, p-DDE), 4.37-44.77ngg(-1) for Hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs, sum of -HCH, -HCH, -HCH, and -HCH), 1.19-13.17ngg(-1) for Chlordanes (sum of heptachlor, t-chlordane, and c-chlordane), 0.24-2.60ngg(-1) for aldrin, and nd-3.43ngg(-1) for dieldrin, respectively. The different compositions indicated that the residues of DDTs and HCHs originated mainly from the historical application, while chlordanes were mostly from recent input. On the basis of soil quality standards of China and the Netherlands, DDTs and chlordanes in this study were categorized as light pollution, and HCHs were classified as no pollution for the majority of soil samples. There are a variety of OCPs residues in urban vegetable soils of Jilin City, but it is still safe and suitable for agricultural production.

Accumulations of copper in orchard soils and fruit trees due to the application of Cu-based fungicides have become research hotspots. However, information about the sampling strategies, which can affect the accuracy of the following research results, is lacking. This study aimed to determine some sampling considerations when Cu accumulations in the soils and fruit trees of apple orchards are studied. The study was conducted in three apple orchards from different sites. Each orchard included two different histories of Cu-based fungicides usage, varying from 3 to 28 years. Soil samples were collected from different locations varying with the distances from tree trunk to the canopy drip line. Fruits and leaves from the middle heights of tree canopy at two locations (outer canopy and inner canopy) were collected. The variation in total soil Cu concentrations between orchards was much greater than the variation within orchards. Total soil Cu concentrations had a tendency to increase with the increasing history of Cu-based fungicides usage. Moreover, total soil Cu concentrations had the lowest values at the canopy drip line, while the highest values were found at the half distances between the trunk and the canopy drip line. Additionally, Cu concentrations of leaves and fruits from the outer parts of the canopy were significantly higher than from the inner parts. Depending on the findings of this study, not only the between-orchard variation but also the within-orchard variation should be taken into consideration when conducting future soil and tree samplings in apple orchards.

以长春城市郊区菜地土壤为研究对象，采用GC?FID法对该地区土壤中多环芳烃含量进行分析测定，长春城郊菜地土壤中平均含量苯并（ a）芘＞蒽＞菲＞萘。该地区土壤中萘，蒽的含量处于尚清洁水平；部分区域土壤中苯并（ a）芘和菲的含量处于轻度污染水平。

ArcGIS analysis was applied to study the concentrations and spatial distribution characteristics of Cr and Ni in surface soil (0~20cm) of corn belt in Dehui—the typical area of black soil in Jilin province. The average concentrations of Cr and Ni were 49.85 mg·kg-1 and 20.85 mg·kg-1, which were both lower than the corresponding background value and thus in no pollution level. The trends for soil Cr and Ni were similar with higher concentrations trending N-S across the centre of the study area, while the other hotspots were located in the southwest of Dehui. There was prominent correlation between Cr and Ni in 0.01 level, indicating the close relationship of them. The method based on the geostatistical analysis in ArcGIS can exactly reflect the character of spatial distribution of heavy metals.

Due to rapid urbanization and the scarcity of land, most of the urban parks and squares in cities are built close to major roads or industrial areas, where they are subject to many potential pollution sources, including vehicle exhaust and industrial emissions. The aims of this study were to determine the concentrations of selected metals (Pb, Cr, Cu, Ni, Zn, and Cd) in road dusts collected in urban parks and squares in Changchun, China, on June 1, 2013 (International Children’s Day) and to estimate the pollution sources. The mean Pb, Cr, Cu, Ni, Zn, and Cd contents (70.89, 60.30, 43.56, 23.16, 170.80, and 0.3111 mg kg−1 dry weight, respectively) in urban dusts were higher than their corresponding natural background values, particularly Pb, Cu, Zn, and Cd, which had about 2.5, 1.4, 1.9, and 2.6-fold higher levels, respectively. The results of principal component analysis indicated that Cr and Ni concentrations were mainly of natural origin, while Pb, Cu and Zn were derived from anthropogenic activities, and Cd tended to be from both sources. The geoaccumulation index (I geo) of these metals in the urban dusts under study indicates that they are uncontaminated with Cr and Ni; uncontaminated to moderately contaminated with Cu and Zn; and moderately contaminated with Pb and Cd. In addition, five particle sizes were analyzed separately for heavy metal concentrations. In all studied areas, there are large differences in the metal-loading percentage of different particle-size fractions among the samples, and the particles in 250–2,000-μm fraction are dominant in the total metal loading.