Researchers warn of risks posed by 'contaminants of emerging concern' found in crops, agricultural soil
Why it matters: CECs can interfere with plant biochemical processes and affect soil structure, impacting agricultural productivity and food quality.
- Contaminants of emerging concern (CECs), such as PFAS and pharmaceuticals, are absorbed by crops and agricultural soil, posing risks even at low concentrations, according to a new international study.
- Audrey Moores, co-author and Professor of Chemistry at McGill, highlights the study's holistic perspective, synthesizing evidence across chemical classes, environmental pathways, plant uptake, and societal impacts.
- The meta-study, led by Laura J. Carter of the University of Leeds, synthesized hundreds of experiments to understand how CECs move through soils and plants, accumulate in edible crops, and affect plant physiology and soil health.
- Overlooked pathways for CECs into soils and crops include agricultural technologies like wastewater irrigation, biosolids, manure, and agroplastics, many of which are paradoxically part of sustainable agricultural practices.
- CECs can remain biologically active at trace levels, influencing plant hormone pathways, microbial communities, nutrient cycling, and driving antimicrobial resistance, with persistent contaminants like PFAS bioaccumulating in leaf tissues.
An international meta-study reveals that 'contaminants of emerging concern' (CECs), including pharmaceuticals, microplastics, and PFAS, are entering agricultural soils and crops through various pathways, even those intended for sustainability. These CECs, active at trace levels, subtly alter plant physiology, disrupt soil health, and pose wider environmental and human health risks, according to researchers led by Laura J. Carter and Audrey Moores.
