Occurrence of antibiotics in soils and manures from greenhouse vegetable production bases of Beijing, China and an associated risk assessment

• Published in: The Science of the total environment Vol. 521-522; pp. 101 - 107
• Main Authors: Li, Cheng, Chen, Jiayi, Wang, Jihua, Ma, Zhihong, Han, Ping, Luan, Yunxia, Lu, Anxiang
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands 01.07.2015
• Subjects: Agriculture; Anti-Bacterial Agents - analysis; Antibiotics; China; Environmental Monitoring; Greenhouses; Manure; Manure - analysis; Risk; Risk Assessment; Soil - chemistry; Soil Pollutants - analysis; Soils; Vegetables; Vegetables - growth & development; China, People's Rep., Beijing; Soil; Greenhouse vegetable production base; Manure; Antibiotics; Risk assessment
• ISSN: 0048-9697; 1879-1026
• DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.03.070

The occurrence of 15 antibiotics in soil and manure samples from 11 large-scale greenhouse vegetable production (GVP) bases in Beijing, China was investigated. Results showed that the greenhouse soils were ubiquitously contaminated with antibiotics, and that antibiotic concentrations were significantly higher in greenhouses than in open field soils. The mean concentrations of four antibiotic classes decreased in the following order: tetracyclines (102μg/kg)>quinolones (86μg/kg)>sulfonamides (1.1μg/kg)>macrolides (0.62μg/kg). This investigation also indicated that fertilization with manure and especially animal feces might be the primary source of antibiotics. A risk assessment based on the calculated risk quotients (RQs) demonstrated that oxytetracycline, chlortetracycline, norfloxacin, ciprofloxacin and enrofloxacin could pose a high risk to soil organisms. These results suggested that the ecological effects of antibiotic contamination in GVP bases and their potential adverse risks on human health need to be given special attention.