Oestrogen-like compounds with biological activities are commonly chemical additives, which have been added into chicken feed for years. Large amount of oestrogen and oestrogen-like compounds were also found in chicken faeces. We believe that such compounds are incorporated into agricultural products as faeces are used in food production process as fertilizer, and they will influence human health. Biodegradation is an environment-friendly, economical way to reduce environmental disruption by oestrogen. In order to degrade oestrogen, we chose 11 bacterial strains that could exhibit high degradation activity against steroid compounds. Oestradiol (E2) and ethynyloestradiol (an artificial oestradiol-like compound; EE2) in chicken faeces were degraded by the bacteria and were detected by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The results show that a mixture of oestrogen-degrading bacteria exhibited higher rate of degradation than each of the 11 bacteria did individually. Therefore, we cultured the mixture of 11 bacteria with chicken faeces. An oestrogen-like compound found in chicken feed and faeces could be also degraded by the bacteria.

Although epidemiological studies have found a significant amount of toxins in surface water, a complex link between animals’ access to wastewater and associated animal and human welfare losses needs to be explored. The scarcity of safe water has put stress on the utilization of wastewater for crops and livestock production. The access of animals to wastewater is related to the emergence of dangerous animal’s diseases, hampering productivity, increasing economic losses, and risking human health along the food chain. This review explores use of wastewater for agriculture, epidemiological evidence of microbial contamination in wastewater, and animal and human welfare disruption due to the use of wastewater for crop and livestock production. More specifically, the review delves into animals exposure to wastewater for bathing, drinking, or grazing on a pasture irrigated with contaminated water and related animal and human welfare losses. We included some scientific articles and reviews published from 1970 to 2017 to support our rational discussions. The selected articles dealt exclusively with animals direct access to wastewater via bathing and indirect access via grazing on pasture irrigated with contaminated wastewater and their implication for animal and human welfare losses. The study also identified that some policy options such as wastewater treatments, constructing wastewater stabilization ponds, controlling animal access to wastewater, and dissemination of necessary information to ultimate consumers related to the source of agricultural produce and wastewater use in animal and crop production are required to protect the human and animal health and welfare.

Plant organic contamination poses a serious threat to the safety of agricultural products and human health worldwide, and the association of endophytic bacteria with host plants may decrease organic pollutants in planta. In this study, we firstly determined the growth response and biofilm formation of endophytic Pseudomonas sp. Ph6-gfp, and then systematically evaluated the performance of different plant colonization methods (seed soaking (SS), root soaking (RS), leaf painting (LP)) for circumventing the risk of plant phenanthrene (PHE) contamination. After inoculation for 48 h, strain Ph6-gfp grew efficiently with PHE, oxalic acid, or malic acid as the sole sources of carbon and energy. Moreover, strain Ph6-gfp could form robust biofilms in LB medium. In greenhouse hydroponic experiments, strain Ph6-gfp could actively colonize inoculated plants internally, and plants colonized with Ph6-gfp showed a higher capacity for PHE removal. Compared with the Ph6-gfp-free treatment, the accumulations of PHE in Ph6-gfp-colonized plants via SS, RS, and LP were 20.1, 33.1, and 7.1 %, respectively, lower. Our results indicate that inoculating plants with Ph6-gfp could lower the risk of plant PHE contamination. RS was most efficient for improving PHE removal in whole plant bodies by increasing the cell numbers of Ph6-gfp in plant roots. The findings in this study provide an optimized method to strain Ph6-gfp reduce plant PAH residues, which may be applied to agricultural production in PAH-contaminated soil.

Vehicular air pollution is a mounting health issue of the modern age, particularly in urban populations of the developing nations. Auto-rickshaws are not considered eco-friendly as to their inefficient engines producing large amount of particulate matter (PM), thus posing significant environmental threat. The present study was conducted to ascertain the cytotoxic, phytotoxic, and mutagenic potential of PM from gasoline-powered two-stroke auto-rickshaws (TSA) and compressed natural gas-powered four-stroke auto-rickshaws (FSA). Based on the increased amount of aluminum quantified during proton-induced X-ray emission analysis of PM from TSA and FSA, different concentrations of aluminum sulfate were also tested to determine its eco-toxicological potential. The MTT assay demonstrated significant (p < 0.001) dose-dependent cytotoxic effects of different concentrations of TSA, FSA, and aluminum sulfate on BHK-21 cell line. LC50 of TSA, FSA, and aluminum sulfate was quantified at 16, 11, and 23.8 μg/ml, respectively, establishing PM from FSA, a highly cytotoxic material. In case of phytotoxicity screening using Zea mays, the results demonstrated that all three tested materials were equally phytotoxic at higher concentrations producing significant reduction (p < 0.001) in seed germination. Aluminum sulfate proved to be a highly phytotoxic agent even at its lowest concentration. Mutagenicity was assessed by fluctuation Salmonella reverse mutation assay adopting TA100 and TA98 mutant strains with (+S9) and without (-S9) metabolic activation. Despite the fact that different concentrations of PM from both sources, i.e., TSA and FSA were highly mutagenic (p < 0.001) even at lower concentrations, the mutagenic index was higher in TSA. Data advocate that all tested materials are equally ecotoxic, and if the existing trend of atmospheric pollution by auto-rickshaws is continued, airborne heavy metals will seriously affect the normal growth of local inhabitants and increased contamination of agricultural products, which will amplify the dietary intake of the toxic elements and could result in genetic mutation or long-term health implications.

Mixture of metals and herbicides in rivers may pose relevant risks for the health of surrounding communities. Humans may be exposed to river pollution through intake of contaminated water and fish, as well as irrigated agricultural products. The aim of this study was to assess the human health risks of environmental exposure to metals and herbicides through water and fish intake in the Pardo River. Metals (Al, As, Be, Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, Mn, Hg, Ni, Tl, Sn, V, and Zn) were analyzed in river water and in edible fish. Herbicides (ametryn, atrazine, diuron, hexazinone, simazine, and tebuthiuron) were analyzed in river water. Seasonal variances were also studied. Aluminum, Cd, Cu, Mn, Pb, and Zn levels in river water were higher than the USEPA benchmarks. Non-carcinogenic risks due to pollutants mixture exposure were above the limit, and carcinogenic risks of As exposure were >10⁻⁶ in the sampling points during the rainy season. Metal levels in fish were lower than the Brazilian legislation and do not pose a threat to public health. Herbicides were detected in four sampling points, with atrazine concentrations (range 0.16–0.32 μg/L) below the Brazilian standard (2.0 μg/L), but above the European Union standard (0.1 μg/L). Considering the water supply needs of cities located in the Pardo River Basin and the persistence of metals and herbicides, the present study indicated that there was a seasonal influence on non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risks to human health, especially in the rainy season. Studies for water treatment plants implantation should consider the risks of exposure to persistent substances, in order to protect the population.

Purposes Very few data for polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) were available in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD), one of the most developed and urbanized region in China. In this study, Chongming Island, located at the estuary of the Yangtze River, was selected as background area to investigate the occurrence, sources, and inventory of PBDEs. Methods Forty-two PBDE congeners were determined in surface soils from farmland, woodland, grassland, tideland, and road collected in Chongming Island. Results The mean concentrations of Σ₂₆PBDE (not including BDE-209) and BDE-209 in soils were 0.76 and 12 ng/g dry weight, respectively. BDE-209 contributed more than 90% of the total of 27 frequently detected BDE congeners, followed by BDE-99 and BDE-47. Weak correlations were found between total organic carbon content and PBDE congeners concentrations in surface soils. PBDE levels varied with land use. Farmland and woodland soils contained higher Σ₂₆PBDE concentrations. BDE-209 levels were the highest in road soils. The mass inventories of PBDEs in soils of Chongming Island were estimated at 3.1 and 310 kg for Σ₂₆PBDEs and BDE-209, respectively. Conclusions The PBDE levels in Chongming Island were similar to those in European background soils, suggesting minimum influence of pollutants from the YRD via air, and wastewater inputs or few PBDE products were used herein. From the standpoint of eco-inland, more studies are needed to explore the reasons of PBDE difference by land use and to assess people intake PBDEs via agriculture products consumption in this region.

Valuation of environmental goods and services are frequently spatially heterogeneous, the significance of this heterogeneity for policy analysis is gradually recognized. For the valuation of environmental goods and services in the context of attaining a better environmental status across Heihe River basin (HRB), Northwest of China by 2020, a survey was conducted employing choice experiment approach across the entire river basin. In this research we estimate the impact of distance from inland rivers’ origin (spatial attribute) on the inhabitants’ willingness to pay for restoration of ecological attributes. A total of 11 ecological attributes were selected including 6 land related attributes and 5 water related attributes. The present study displays the outcomes of the research planned to examine differences in willingness to pay across different locations/distances. A total of five cities and 33 surround villages/townships were included to examine for location effect, while four ad hoc base distances split samples were recognized for distance effect i.e. ≤100 km, ≤200 km, ≤300 and > 300 km from rivers’ origin. The results of mixed logit model recognized that people living at different locations value the attributes differently. For instance the people of Zhangye region are willing to pay RMB 95.66 annually for improvements in biodiversity while in Gaotai the individuals’ willingness to pay (WTP) for the same attributes was RMB 45.68. Similarly, the respondents’ living nearer to the origin of river were willing to pay relatively higher amount for the upgradation in the degraded ecosystem services than the remainders. The results of willingness to pay obtained by Krinsky Robb method confirmed that the attributes quality of agricultural products and water quality were the most preferred attributes with the willingness to pay RMB 91.09 and 122.89 respectively. The significant results of willingness to pay may serve as a reference for sustainable improvements and uplifting of the degraded ecological attributes.

During the evolution of the human, agriculture and land utilization was inevitably connected with survival in nature. Human activity was not only restricted to the production of agricultural products but also extended into many other sectors, such as the production of several industrial-made products, mining, and usage of fossil fuels as a standard method of generating electricity. However, the intense urbanization phenomenon ultimately caused, during the last few decades, the degradation of our natural environment. As a result, the quality (and quantity) of produced food we consume has significantly decreased. The need for the evolution of alternative methods of cultivation is constant and always a hot topic, especially in order to confront the multiple problems that conventional agriculture has. Hydroponics, an innovative cultivation method, comes to solve many of these problems.

The investigation of arsenic (As) re-accumulation in an area previously remediated by soil dressing will help in sustainable controlling the risks of As to local ecosystems and should influence management decisions about remediation strategies. In this study, As content in an area remediated by soil dressing and the possible As accumulation risk in agricultural products were investigated. The results indicated that after 7 years of agricultural activities, the average As content (24.6 mg kg⁻¹) in surface soil of the investigated area increased by 83.6 % compared with that (13.4 mg kg⁻¹) in clean soil. Of the surface soil samples (n = 88), 21.6 % had As levels that exceeded the limits of the Environmental Quality Standard for Soils of China (GB 15618-1995) and 98.9 % of the surface soil samples with As contents exceeding that in clean soil was observed. Soil dressing might be not a remediation method once and for all in some contaminated areas, even though no significant difference in available As content was found between clean (0.18 mg kg⁻¹) and surface (0.22 mg kg⁻¹) soils. The foreign As in surface soil of the investigated area mainly specifically sorbed with soil colloid or associated with hydrous oxides of Fe and Al, or existed in residual fraction. The upward movement of contaminated soil from the deeper layers and the atmospheric deposition of slag particles might be responsible for the re-accumulation of As in the investigated area. Decreases in soil pH in the investigated soils and the fact that no plant samples had As levels exceeding the limits of the National Food Safety Standards for Contaminants of China (GB 2762-2012) were also observed.

An analytical method for an insecticide Fipronil and its metabolite MB 46513 remaining in agricaitunil products has been established which uses GC-ECD and GC/MS for their determination and continuation, respectively. In this method, target compounds are extracted with acetone from agricultural products, concentated, and finally re-extracted with n-hexane. When the sample contains lipid in large quantity, it is first delipidated by partition with acetonitrile, cleaned up with Florisil column, and finally determined by GC-ECD. In the case of vegetables and fruits, which contain lipids in small quantity, the sample is cleaned up with a Florisil column and determined by GOECD. The detection limit of this method is 0.001 micro g/g for both of these kind of samples, the recovery of Fipronil is over 85%, and the C. V. of the recovery is less than 7%. For MB-46513. the recovery is over 63% and its C. V. is less than 9%. This method was applied to 17kinds of agricultural products and no Fipronil and MB46513 were detected.