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Spraying apple trees with lead arsenate at Blandy Experimental Farms (Boyce, VA) in the1920s. Blandy Farm Archives.
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Lead arsenate (PbHAsO 4) was first used in apple orchards in the 1890s to combat the codling moth, Cydia pomonella (L.), a destructive insect pest. This pesticide was very popular among farmers because of its effectiveness, low cost, ease of use, and persistence. Over the next 60 years the frequency and amount of lead arsenate applications increase...
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... mentioned earlier, lead arsenate (PbHAsO 4 ) was first used in 1892 as an insecticidal spray against the gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar (Linnaeus). It replaced copper arsenate because of the latter's phytotoxic effects when used at high rates. When lead arsenate was used as a foliar spray (Fig. 3), it adhered well to the plant surfaces, allowing the pesticidal effects to last a long time (Peryea, ...
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... Lead (unfiltered) was detected in 100 % of samples at concentrations ranging between 0.14 and 374 μg/L (Table S8). Lead has both humanrelated and natural sources including presence in paint, gasoline, water distribution systems, food, cosmetics, and dust and soil that was contaminated from historical pesticide use (Schooley et al., 2008) and leaded gasoline use (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 2021d). Plankton and other seston can uptake lead and other heavy metals from the water column (Revis et al., 1989), which are then consumed by fish. ...
Long-term (2010-19) water-quality monitoring on the Colorado River downstream from Moab Utah indicated the persistent presence of Bioactive Chemicals (BC), such as pesticides and pharmaceuticals. This stream reach near Canyonlands National Park provides critical habitat for federally endangered species. The Moab wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) outfall discharges to the Colorado River and is the nearest potential point-source to this reach. The original WWTP was replaced in 2018. In 2016-19, a study was completed to determine if the new plant reduced BC input to the Colorado River at, and downstream from, the outfall. Water samples were collected before and after the plant replacement at sites upstream and downstream from the outfall. Samples were analyzed for as many as 243 pesticides, 109 pharmaceuticals, 20 hormones, 51 wastewater indicator chemicals, 20 metals, and 8 nutrients. BC concentrations, hazard quotients (HQs), and exposure activity ratios (EARs) were used to identify and prioritize contaminants for their potential to have adverse biological effects on the health of native and endangered wildlife. There were 22 BCE with HQs >1, mostly metals and hormones; and 23 BCE with EARs >0.1, mostly hormones and pharmaceuticals. Most high HQs or EARs were associated with samples collected at the WWTP outfall site prior to its replacement. Discharge from the new plant had reduced concentrations of nutrients, hormones, pharmaceuticals, and other BC. For example, all 16 of the hormones detected at the WWTP outfall site had maximum concentrations in samples collected prior to the WWTP replacement. The WWTP replacement had less effect on instream concentrations of metals and pesticides, BC whose sources are less directly tied to domestic wastewater. Study results indicate that improved WWTP technology can create substantial reductions in concentrations of non-regulated BC such as pharmaceuticals, in addition to regulated contaminants such as nutrients.
... Lead (Pb) contamination in soil is widespread across US (Haque et al. 2021;Johnson et al. 2016;Solt, Deocampo, and Norris 2015;Wade et al. 2021). Soil Pb-contamination originates from many sources and remains as a major source of chronic Pb exposure (Al-Sabbak et al. 2012;Chrastný, Komárek, and Hájek 2010;Filippelli and Laidlaw 2011;Greipsson et al. 2013;Johnson et al. 2016;Li et al. 2020;Nacke et al. 2013;Schooley et al. 2009;Zahran et al. 2013;Zhuang et al. 2009). Lead (Pb) is persistent in the topsoil but can become re-suspended, resulting in a Pb exposure (Haque et al. 2021;Laidlaw and Taylor 2011;Mielke et al. 2016;Mielke and Reagan 1998). ...
Lead (Pb) soil contamination is widespread and poses a threat to human health. Even chronic exposure to low levels of Pb contaminated soils is potentially harmful to organisms. Remediation of Pb-contaminated soil can be accomplished through phytoextraction, a technique that uses plants and associated soil microorganisms. The North American native switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.), a second-generation bioenergy crop was used in this study due to its ability to produce high biomass and grow on marginal lands. In this study the effects of exogenous foliar application of the plant growth regulators diethyl aminoethyl hexanoate (DA-6) and salicylic acid (SA) were examined separately but in conjunction with the soil-fungicide propicona-zole and soil chelate nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA) in order to optimize phytoex-traction of Pb. Plants were grown under controlled conditions using highly Pb-contaminated (5802.5 mg kg −1) soil derived from a superfund site. Foliar application of the plant growth regulator DA-6 resulted in significantly higher Pb concentrations in the foliage of plants compared to Control plants. The DA-6 did, however, not improve plants dry mass (DM). Foliar application of salicylic acid resulted in significantly greater DM of the foliage compared to Control plants. The DM of plants treated with foliar application of salicylic acid was 46% higher than those of Control plants. Foliar application of salicylic acid did not improve significantly Pb concentration of foliage compared to Control plants. The findings reported in this study will potentially improve phytoextraction by switchgrass grown in Pb contaminated soils. ARTICLE HISTORY
... Soil lead (Pb) contamination is mainly derived from industrial sources [1], agricultural pesticides [2], chemical fertilizers [3] and from emission of tetraethyllead ((CH 3 CH 2 ) 4 Pb) gasoline [4][5][6][7]. Environmental Pb contamination is a recognized global health problem and it is well known that long-term exposure to low-level Pb can result in neurological dysfunctions including intellectual impairment in children [8][9][10], Alzheimer's [11,12] and Parkinson's diseases [13]. ...
Soil lead (Pb) contamination is a recognized environmental and global health problem. Phytoextraction of Pb using switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.), a second-generation biofuel crop, is typically enhanced by soil chelation. The effectiveness of four different chelating agents, phytic acid (inositol hexaphosphate), citric acid, NTA (nitrilotriacetic acid), and EDTA (ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid) was examined in pot culture. Plants treated with EDTA (1 mM) showed significantly higher shoot Pb concentrations compared to control plants and plants treated with other chelates. Lead-solubility following phytoextraction was examined by soil washing using 0.01 and 0.05 M acetic acid as an extractant solution revealed no significant differences in Pb concentrations in soil among different chelate treatments and control. Furthermore, the effects of different concentrations (1, 2, 5 and 10 mM) of NTA on Pb phytoextraction of switchgrass were examined. Plants receiving 5 mM and 10 mM NTA had significantly higher foliage concentrations of Pb compared to plants treated with lower levels (1 and 2 mM) of NTA. Moreover, the effect of NTA application alone was significantly improved by a combined application of Triton X-100, an alkyl polyglucoside (APG); the Pb concentration in the foliage of switchgrass was more than doubled when treated with NTA combined with APG. The use of NTA combined with APG has great potential in improving phytoextraction efficiencies of switchgrass on Pb-contaminated soils.
... Many former orchards treated with PbHAsO 4 still have elevated lead (Pb) and arsenic (As) from historical applications (Peryea, 1998). Both Pb and As are recalcitrant metals that have limited mobility in soils (Delistraty & Yokel, 2011;Hood, 2006;Peryea & Creger, 1994;Schooley et al., 2008;Veneman et al., 1983). However, aged residues of Pb and As from PbHAsO 4 remain phytoavailable, and thus potentially toxic to plants (Gaw et al., 2008), driving the need to evaluate the ecotoxicological impacts of Pb and As on nontarget organisms. ...
Historical use of lead arsenate as a pesticide in former orchards of eastern Washington has resulted in legacy lead and arsenic soil contamination. However, the impacts on plant growth in soils with residual lead and arsenic contamination has not yet been quantified. To this end, a comparative study of plant growth impacts was performed for native bluegrass (Poa secunda), invasive cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum), and buttercrunch lettuce (Lactuca sativa). Using standard plant growth protocols, germination frequency and biomass growth were measured over a wide range of lead and arsenate concentrations, with the maximum concentrations of 3,400 and 790 mg/kg for lead and arsenic, respectively. Results indicated that only the biomass growth for all species decreased in soils with the highest concentrations of lead and arsenic in the soil, with no impacts on soils with lower residual lead and arsenate concentrations. No impact on percent germination was observed at any soil concentration. These results can be used to determine site specific soil screening levels for use in ecological risk assessments for lead and arsenate in soils. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
... Therefore, it can be absorbed by vegetables through rhizosphere mediated solubility. Soils derived Pb contamination from various leadedhouse paint, leaded-gasoline, some pressure-treated wood, and lead-arsenate pesticide (Schooley et al. 2008). Despite the phases out of leaded-gasoline and paint, beginning in the 1970s, historical Pb contaminations are persisted in urban, industrial, and high-traffic areas (McBride et al. 2013). ...
In developing countries, rapid urbanization and industrialization cause heavy metal contamination, including lead (Pb). India is one of the most developing countries where anthropogenic sources are the chief generators of Pb contaminants. Mining, smelting Pb containing paints, papers, gasoline, and municipal sewage sludge enriched with Pb come in contact with a natural drain subsequently used for irrigation and cultivation of food crops and vegetables. Wastewater irrigated crops tend to cause contamination with Pb and thus pose a threat to the environment and human beings. The present review explored the anthropogenic sources of Pb and its bioaccumulation in vegetables and further consequences on human health. It also focused on reducing the phyto-bioavailability and accumulation of Pb in vegetables by using various improved strategies. Approaches like biochar application, microbes and their combination with biochar, co-remediation, co-cropping, nanoparticle-based method, biofilters, and fertilizers might hinder the subsequent transfer of Pb and other heavy metals in the food chain system and reduce the health risk.
... Lead has many natural and anthropogenic sources, 70 including lead-arsenate pesticides that were historically used in SRW. 71,72 Lead concentrations in wastewater were higher than those in the corresponding stream water ( Figure 2M). Cadmium is associated with mineral processing and industrial activities and presents potential risk to aquatic ecosystems. ...
River waters contain complex chemical mixtures derived from natural and anthropogenic sources. Aquatic organisms are exposed to the entire chemical composition of the water, resulting in potential effects at the organismal through ecosystem level. This study applied a holistic approach to assess landscape, hydrological, chemical, and biological variables. On-site mobile laboratory experiments were conducted to evaluate biological effects of exposure to chemical mixtures in the Shenandoah River Watershed. A suite of 534 inorganic and organic constituents were analyzed, of which 273 were detected. A watershed-scale accumulated wastewater model was developed to predict environmental concentrations of chemicals derived from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) to assess potential aquatic organism exposure for all stream reaches in the watershed. Measured and modeled concentrations generally were within a factor of 2. Ecotoxicological effects from exposure to individual components of the chemical mixture were evaluated using risk quotients (RQs) based on measured or predicted environmental concentrations and no effect concentrations or chronic toxicity threshold values. Seventy-two percent of the compounds had RQ values <0.1, indicating limited risk from individual chemicals. However, when individual RQs were aggregated into a risk index, most stream reaches receiving WWTP effluent posed potential risk to aquatic organisms from exposure to complex chemical mixtures.
... Lead-arsenate (PbHAsO 4 ) was widely used as a pesticide on fruit tree orchards throughout the United States between the 1890s and 1950s. Records indicate that it was standard practice in orchard farming to spray mixtures of lead-arsenate and water on the trees multiple times per year to combat gypsy and codling moth caterpillar infestations, which were known to destroy the crops by feeding on the leaves and fruits (Peryea & Creger, 1994;Schooley et al., 2008). In 1935, there were over 47,000 registered fruit tree orchards in Connecticut alone (USBC, 1936). ...
... In the field investigations, As was found throughout soils collected from historic orchards as well as some of the adjoining farmlands that were active in 1951 or prior (Figures 3C and Supplemental Figure S2). This supports the literature that suggests arsenical pesticides were commonly used on orchards throughout this region during this time-frame (McBride et al., 2015;Robinson & Ayuso, 2004;Schooley et al., 2008;Veneman et al., 1983). Analytical laboratory results found that the As and Pb were leachable in synthetic rainwater conditions at concentrations above drinking water standards in the samples from the preliminary field site (Supplemental Table S2), supporting the hypothesis that legacy arsenical pesticide residues may be mobilized into the groundwater decades after they were applied. ...
Arsenic contamination in wells is common throughout the Northeastern USA. It is well documented that lead‐arsenate (PbHAsO4) pesticides were widely used on fruit tree orchards from the 1890s‐1950s. This study evaluates the potential for As contamination of groundwater from former orchards in Connecticut, where there were over 47,000 orchards in 1935. A proximity analysis involving 189 orchards and 114 domestic wells was conducted to assess the spatial relationship between historic orchards and As in wells. Field studies were then conducted to characterize As and Pb distributions in soils and wells near historic orchards. The proximity analysis found that the wells with no detected As were further away from historic orchards and had fewer historic orchards within their vicinity when compared to wells that contained As. The field investigations found that elevated levels of As and Pb were widespread in soils from orchards established by 1951, with some As concentrations exceeding 200 ppm. In some soils, As and Pb were leachable at concentrations exceeding EPA drinking water standards in synthetic precipitation laboratory tests. It was also found that the wells nearest to the impacted soils tended to contain the highest As concentrations, while the wells located in areas that were forested prior to 1970 contained no As. Overall, this study found that As and Pb from legacy pesticide residues are still abundant in former orchard soils and that a strong spatial relationship exists between As‐contaminated wells and historic orchards. Greater consideration should be given to historic orchard soils as a potential contributing non‐point source of As to the groundwater in Connecticut, where domestic well contamination rates are high. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved
... Non-home-grown tree fruit was associated with higher BLL (whole cohort, p=0.036) whereas home-grown tree fruit consumption was associated with lower BLL (UAS-gardeners only, p=0.013). Historically commercial orchards used lead arsenate (PbHAsO4) pesticide treatments (Codling, 2011;Schooley et al., 2008) which could potentially be taken up into crops (Hood, 2006;McBride, 2013). Our finding that consumption of more shrub fruit (e.g. ...
Soil Pb concentrations at urban agriculture sites (UAS) commonly exceed recommended safe levels. There is a lack of evidence regarding uptake of Pb by gardeners using such sites for food crops. Our study aimed to elucidate whether gardening in soil with raised Pb levels results in Pb body burdens of concern to health, and to assess confounding factors influencing Pb body burden. Our cross-sectional case study measured Pb in saliva and blood of UAS gardeners (n=43), soil and produce samples from their UAS, and home tap water. Blood and saliva Pb concentrations were compared with those from non-UAS-gardener controls (n=29). A health risk threshold of 5 µg dL-1 blood Pb level (BLL) was selected in keeping with international guidance. Detailed surveys investigated individuals' anthropometrics and potential Pb exposures from diet, and historic and everyday activities. Saliva was not found to be a suitable biomarker of adult Pb exposure in this context. Predictors of higher BLLs were being older, being male and eating more root vegetables and shrub fruit. Eating more green vegetables predicted a lower BLL, suggesting a protective effect against Pb uptake. UAS gardeners BLLs (geometric mean 1.53; range 0.6-4.1 µg dL-1) were not significantly higher (p=0.39) than the control group (geometric mean 1.43; range 0.7-2.9 µg dL-1). All BLLs were below 5 µg dL-1 except one occupational exposure. Having paired the UAS gardeners with closely matched controls we found Pb in UAS soils (with range 62-1300 mg kg-1 from common urban sources) unlikely to pose an additional risk to adult health compared to their neighbours who did not access an UAS. As such, other Pb sources may be the dominant factor controlling BLL.
... Lead can be transferred from soil to humans through direct soil ingestion or the food chain (Attanayake et al., 2015;Paltseva et al., 2018c;Paltseva et al., 2020). Potential exposure to Pb from contaminated soils and garden-grown vegetables is well documented in New York City (Cheng et al., 2015;Paltseva et al., 2018a;Schooley et al., 2008). Yet, not all Pb in the soil is bioavailable. ...
The successful use of visible and near-infrared (Vis-NIR) reflectance spectroscopy analysis requires selecting an optimal procedure of data acquisition and an accurate modeling approach. In this study, Vis-NIR with 350–2500 nm wavelengths were applied to detect different forms of lead (Pb) through the spectrally active soil constituents combining principal component regression (PCR) and Partial least-square regression (PLSR) for the Vis-NIR model calibration. Three clouds with different soil spectral properties were divided by the Linear discriminant analysis (LDA) in categories of Pb contamination risks: “low,” “health,” “ecological,” ranging from 200 to 750 mg kg⁻¹. Farm soils were used for calibration (n = 26), and more polluted garden soils (n = 36) from New York City were used for validation. Total and bioaccessible Pb concentrations were examined with PLSR models and compared with Support Vector Machine (SVM) Regression and Boosting Regression Tree (BRT) models. Performances of all models' predictions were qualitatively evaluated by the Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), Residual Prediction Deviation (RPD), and coefficient of determination (R²). For total Pb, the best predictive models were obtained with BRT (R² = 0.82 and RMSE 341.80 mg kg⁻¹) followed by SVM (validation, R² = 0.77 and RMSE 337.96 mg kg⁻¹), and lastly by PLSR (validation, R² = 0.74 and RMSE 499.04 mg kg⁻¹). The PLSR technique is the most accurate calibration model for bioaccessible Pb with an R² value of 0.91 and RMSE of 68.27 mg kg⁻¹. The regression analysis indicated that bioaccessible Pb is strongly influenced by organic content, and to a lesser extent, by Fe concentrations. Although PLSR obtained lower accuracy, the model selected many characteristic bands and, thus, provided accurate approach for Pb pollution monitoring.
... The process of phytoextraction of Pb contaminated soil typically begins by soil acidification and chelation [27]. Lead ions are positively charged, causing them to bind to particles in the topsoil and resist leaching into deeper soil horizons [28,29]. Several studies have found that the synthetic chelator ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) is a highly effective Pb-chelation agent that forms soluble Pb complexes in the soil [26,30,31]. ...
Soil lead (Pb) contamination is a major environmental and public health risk. Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum), a second-generation biofuel crop, is potentially useful for the long-term phytoremediation and phytoextraction of Pb contaminated soils. We evaluated the efficacy of a coordinated foliar application of plant growth regulators and soil fungicide and a chelator in order to optimize phytoextraction. Plants were grown in soil culture under controlled conditions. First, three exogenous nitric oxide (NO) donors were evaluated at multiple concentrations: (1) S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine (SNAP); (2) sodium nitroprusside (SNP); and (3) S-nitrosoglutathione (GSNO). Second, the effect of SNP (0.5 μM) was examined further with the model chelate EDTA and the soil fungicide propicanazole. Third, a combined foliar application of SNP and gibberellic acid (GA3) was examined with EDTA and propicanazole. The soil application of propiconazole (a broad-spectrum fungicides) reduced AMF colonization and allowed greater Pb phytoextraction. The foliar application of SNP resulted in similar concentrations of Pb (roots and foliage) to plants that were challenged with chelates and soil fungicides. The combined foliar application of SNP and GA3 resulted in significantly greater average Pb concentration (243 mg kg−1) in plant foliage in comparison to control plants (182 mg kg−1) and plants treated with GA3 alone (202 mg kg−1). The combined foliar application of SNP and GA3 resulted in the greatest phytoextraction efficiency and could therefore potentially improve phytoextraction by switchgrass grown in Pb contaminated soils.
