Pesticide Exposure and Environmental Impact Assessment

Food security relies heavily on pesticides to combat pests and maximise yields. However, their physicochemical properties often lead to unintended dispersal through leaching, spray drift and runoff, causing contamination of soil, water and air. Environmental impact assessment combines field monitoring, laboratory assays and modelling to quantify pesticide distribution, transformation and persistence as well as risk to non-target organisms. Human exposure arises from occupational contact, dietary intake of residues and environmental pathways such as contaminated drinking water. Assessment frameworks integrate toxicokinetic data, bioaccumulation metrics and ecotoxicological thresholds to evaluate hazards across multiple scales. Recent advances in analytical chemistry and high-resolution mass spectrometry have enhanced detection of trace residues and metabolites, informing more accurate fate models. Simultaneously, growing interest in mitigation strategies spans from novel adsorbent materials and photocatalytic degradation to bioremediation and precision application technologies. A holistic understanding of exposure and impact is essential to balance agricultural productivity with ecosystem health and to guide evidence-based regulation globally.

Research from Nature Portfolio

Recent studies have introduced metal-organic frameworks as versatile platforms for aqueous pesticide removal. One framework achieved complete degradation of a common herbicide within minutes under visible light by harnessing enhanced charge transfer to generate singlet oxygen, thus preventing formation of toxic by-products. Detailed spectroscopic analyses revealed the role of reactive oxygen species in selective oxidation pathways, guiding the design of next-generation photocatalysts with improved stability and specificity.

Complementary work has applied high-resolution mass spectrometric imaging to map pesticide residues in sediment and biotic matrices, enabling in situ tracking of contaminant fluxes and transformation products at sub-millimetre scales.

Pesticide Exposure and Environmental Impact Assessment publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in pesticide exposure and environmental impact assessment across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Persistent organic pollutant: A chemical compound that resists environmental degradation and accumulates over time.

Bioaccumulation: The process by which substances concentrate in living organisms through absorption and food intake.

Photocatalysis: Acceleration of a chemical reaction by light in the presence of a catalyst to degrade pollutants.

Reactive oxygen species: Highly reactive molecules derived from oxygen that mediate oxidation of organic contaminants.

Advanced oxidation processes: Treatment methods generating radicals to decompose recalcitrant contaminants in water or air.

Bioremediation: Use of microorganisms or plants to detoxify or remove pollutants from the environment.

References

1. Elucidation of the role of metals in the adsorption and photodegradation of herbicides by metal-organic frameworks. Nature Communications (2024).
2. Agriculture Development, Pesticide Application and Its Impact on the Environment. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (2021).
3. Pesticide Exposure, Safety Issues, and Risk Assessment Indicators. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (2011).
4. Pesticides in Drinking Water—A Review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (2021).
5. Current status of pesticide effects on environment, human health and it’s eco-friendly management as bioremediation: A comprehensive review. Frontiers in Microbiology (2022).