Arsenic and lead residues in carrots from foliar applications of monosodium methanearsonate (MSMA): A comparison between mineral and organic soils, or from soil residues

Abstract

Carrot roots may absorb arsenic residues when grown in soil that has been treated previously with arsenical pesticides. Arsenic residues in crops also may result from the inappropriate application of post-emergence arsenical herbicides. To compare potential sources of arsenic residues, carrots were planted in mineral or organic soil and treated post-emergence with the herbicide monosodium methanearsonate (MSMA) at 0, 0.56, 1.12, 2.24, 4.48, or 8.96 kg ha−1. Arsenic concentration in all plant parts declined between 30 days before harvest and harvest. Arsenic concentration in peeled carrot roots ranged from less than the limit of detection (LOD) for untreated carrots to 0.963 mg kg−1 (fresh weight) at harvest for carrots treated with 8.96 kg ha−1 MSMA. In another study, carrots were grown in a greenhouse in soil collected from an old orchard site that had been sprayed with lead arsenate for many years. The old orchard site soil had an arsenic level of 110 mg kg−1, and similar non-orchard soil had an arsenic level of 1.97 mg kg−1. All carrot plant segments from plants grown in old orchard soil had higher arsenic concentrations than those from non-orchard soil. Peeled carrot roots from non-orchard soil contained 0.034 mg kg−1 arsenic, while the peeled roots from old orchard soil had 0.135 mg kg−1. Old orchard soil had a lead level of 496 mg kg−1, compared with 6.52 mg kg−1 for non-orchard soil. Peeled carrot roots from old orchard soil contained 0.885 mg kg−1 lead, and peeled roots from non-orchard soil contained 0.147 mg kg−1 lead.