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Accumulation and Transport of Phthalic Acid Esters in the Soil-Plant System of Agricultural Fields with Different Years of Film Mulching
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Agricultural plastic mulch films release phthalate plasticizers (PAEs) into surrounding soil over time, and these chemicals accumulate in crops like maize and cabbage. After more than 10 years of continuous mulching, DEHP levels in cabbage leaves exceeded China's national food safety limits, highlighting a direct pathway for plastic-associated chemical contaminants to enter the human food supply.
In this study, we investigated the accumulation and transport patterns of phthalate ester (PAEs) compounds in the soil-plant system of maize and cabbage fields under different film mulching years. The total content of five PAEs in the maize fields soil ranged from 156.19 to 566.1 μg kg−1 with film mulching for 0–20 years. The total content of five PAEs in the cabbage field soils ranged from 252.48 to 559.07 μg kg−1 with film mulching for 0–30 years. The PAEs content in cabbage and maize field soils was lower than the environmental quality standards for soil (GB 15618-2008). With the increase in film mulching years, both maize and cabbage soil PAEs contents increased significantly (p < 0.05), while among the five PAEs, the contents of di-n-butyl phthalate (DnBP) and di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) increased the most significantly, and the content of DEHP in the soils was the highest. The DEHP content in soils planted with maize ranges from 134.03 to 406.79 μg kg−1 with the film mulching for 20 years; while in soil planted with cabbage, it ranges from 229.35 to 405.2 μg kg−1 with the film mulching for 30 years. The DEHP content in all of the soils has not exceed the limit value established by the USEPA in U.S. Five PAEs were detected in maize seeds and cabbage leaves, among which the DEHP content exceeded the maximum residue limit set by the National Food Safety Standard (GB 9685-2016) for DEHP in food after more than 10 years of mulching. The bioaccumulation and translocation factors in cabbage showed a significant positive correlation with the film mulching years. However, the bioaccumulation factor and translocation factor in maize have weak correlations with the film mulching years, possibly due to the lower PAEs content in the deep soil layers where maize roots are distributed. Our research revealed a significant association between the presence and distribution of PAEs in crops and mulching years. These novel discoveries provide fundamental information for controlling PAEs pollution in agricultural environments.
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