High levels of contaminants in soils and crops have been widely reported in treated wastewater (TWW) irrigation. However, the dynamic change of contaminant levels has been rarely reported during the growing period (from sowing to harvest) of vegetables. Here, we investigated the uptake of polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) during the growing period (from sowing to harvest) of carrots (Daucus carota L.) and Chinese cabbage (Brassica chinensis L.) in the TWW-contaminated soils under greenhouse and field cultivations. Our results illustrated that greenhouse cultivation induced the lower ∑PAHs levels in both soils and vegetables, compared with field cultivation. The ∑PAHs level in the edible part of Chinese cabbage (leaf vegetables) was higher than that in the carrots (rhizome vegetables). During the growing period, we observed the decreasing trend of ∑PAHs in soils. The largest ∑PAHs in the edible part of carrots appeared in the seeding stage, while ∑PAHs in the edible part of Chinese cabbage showed slightly variation. Moreover, we observed the dominance of PAHs with 3-4 rings in both soils and vegetables. Our study illustrated that the significant uptake of PAHs from the TWW-contaminated soils occurs in the seedling stage and seedling development should be avoided in the TWW-contaminated soils to reduce the ingestion exposure.

Uptake of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons during the growing period of carrots and Chinese cabbages in the treated wastewater contaminated soils

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