Health risk assessment of triazole fungicides around a pesticide factory in China

The environmental pollution and health effects caused by pesticide production have consistently garnered considerable research interest. In the present study, the concentrations of five triazole fungicides (TFs) in air, indoor dust, and diet were monitored around a pesticide factory in eastern China from November 2020 to May 2021. The levels of five TFs in each sample were determined via UPLC-MS/MS. For a health risk assessment, the United States Environmental Protection Agency's deterministic method was applied. The findings revealed that the total concentrations of the five TFs around the monitoring area ranged from 0.29 to 5.85 ng/m3 in outdoor air, 287.4 to 9878.5 mu g/kg in indoor dust, 0.0578 to 4.948 mu g/kg in vegetables, and 0.447 to 3.00 mu g/kg in rice. Notably, tebuconazole and hexaconazole had consistently high contributions over the years. For adults and children, the average daily doses (ADDs) were 1.32 x 10-5 and 2.69 x 10-5 mg/kg/day, respectively, in the monitoring area and 4.25 x 10-6 and 6.42 x 10-6 mg/kg/day, respectively, in the control area. In the control area, rice and vegetables were the primary media for exposure to TFs in children and adults, collectively accounting for more than 94% of the total TF exposure. Conversely, indoor dust is identified as the main medium of TF exposure in children residing near the pesticide factory, representing approximately 40% of the total exposure. The risks of noncarcinogenic effects on children and adults in the monitoring area were significantly greater than those in the control area, being approximately ten times greater for children, warranting increased attention. The carcinogenic risk to human health is relatively safe.