Pesticide aerosol characteristics in the vicinity of an agricultural vehicle cab during application.

Pesticide spraying for crop protection leads to the formation of a mist of droplets, part of which is dispersed into the atmosphere. The characteristics of this aerosol, namely its particle size distribution and concentration, were measured during five campaigns involving cereal crop growing, wine grape culture, and orcharding. The measurement method incorporated a tracer product (fluorescein) with the treatment product; the pesticide aerosol concentration was then deduced from the tracer concentration.

Uptake and transport of radioactive nickel and cadmium into three vegetables after wet aerial contamination.

Knowledge of radionuclide or trace element retention and translocation to plants following an aerial contamination event, for example, sprinkling with contaminated water, is necessary for the evaluation of human exposure through consumption of contaminated vegetables. The fate of 63Ni and 109Cd in all plant parts of three different vegetables after wet deposition on leaves or on fruits was studied. Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.

Soil-to-root transfer and translocation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by vegetables grown on industrial contaminated soils.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are possible contaminants in some former industrial sites, representing a potential risk to human health if these sites are converted to residential areas. This work was conducted to determine whether PAHs present in contaminated soils are transferred to edible parts of selected vegetables. Soils were sampled from a former gasworks and a private garden, exhibiting a range of PAH concentrations (4 to 53 to 172 to 1263 and 2526 mg PAHs kg-1 of dry soil), and pot experiments were conducted in a greenhouse with lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.