425098

Ecological risks of persistent organic pollutants in highly agriculturally intensive use in Al-Qassim Region, Saudi Arabia

Article

Last updated: 11 May 2025

Subjects

-

Tags

Organic chemistry

Abstract

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in agricultural soils pose significant environmental and human health risks. This study investigates the concentrations of POPs in agricultural soils from 30 locations in Buraydah, Saudi Arabia. The majority of the sampling sites exhibited undetectable pesticide levels, indicating low environmental risks. However, six locations showed varying degrees of pesticide contamination, with Cypermethrin (14.8–562.5 ppb) and Bifenthrin (25.2–156.1 ppb) being the most prominent pollutants. Location 16 exhibited the highest pesticide concentrations, while Location 20 posed the greatest potential health risk. A comprehensive carcinogenic risk assessment was conducted to evaluate cancer risks associated with ingestion, dermal contact, and inhalation exposure pathways. The total cancer risk (TCR) was computed as the sum of risks from all pathways, identifying specific locations requiring urgent remediation. Additionally, a non-carcinogenic risk assessment was performed using the Hazard Quotient (HQ) and Hazard Index (HI) to estimate cumulative risks from multiple substances. Although the overall POP levels were relatively low compared to global studies, the findings emphasize the need for continuous monitoring, sustainable agricultural practices, and stricter pesticide regulations to mitigate both carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic health risks.

DOI

10.21608/ejchem.2025.370980.11511

Keywords

Pesticides (POPs), Soil contamination, Health risk assessment, ‎Environmental Pollution, Pesticide residue, Cancer

Authors

First Name

Wael A.

Last Name

El-Sayed

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

Department of Chemistry, College of Science, Qassim University, Buraidah 51452, Saudi Arabia

Email

w.shendy@qu.edu.sa

City

-

Orcid

-

First Name

Mohammed

Last Name

Aladl

MiddleName

S. M.

Affiliation

Department of Chemistry, College of Science, Qassim University, Buraidah 51452, Saudi Arabia

Email

441112231@qu.edu.sa

City

Buraidah

Orcid

-

First Name

Alaa

Last Name

Younis

MiddleName

M.

Affiliation

Department of Chemistry, College of Science, Qassim University, Buraidah 51452, Saudi Arabia

Email

a.younis@qu.edu.sa

City

Buraidah

Orcid

0000-0002-8669-4191

Volume

68

Article Issue

8

Related Issue

55511

Issue Date

2025-08-01

Receive Date

2025-03-25

Publish Date

2025-08-01

Page Start

51

Page End

65

Print ISSN

0449-2285

Online ISSN

2357-0245

Link

https://ejchem.journals.ekb.eg/article_425098.html

Detail API

http://journals.ekb.eg?_action=service&article_code=425098

Order

425,098

Type

Original Article

Type Code

297

Publication Type

Journal

Publication Title

Egyptian Journal of Chemistry

Publication Link

https://ejchem.journals.ekb.eg/

MainTitle

Ecological risks of persistent organic pollutants in highly agriculturally intensive use in Al-Qassim Region, Saudi Arabia

Details

Type

Article

Created At

04 May 2025