The document discusses the risks associated with soil pollution and its impact on food safety and human health, highlighting exposure pathways such as ingestion, dermal contact, and inhalation. It details various methodologies for assessing exposure and risk, including biomonitoring and mathematical models. The text emphasizes the need for harmonized risk assessment tools while allowing for flexibility based on geographical and cultural contexts.

1. 1 3 May 2018
Risks from soil
pollution and
Food safety
- State of art -
Frank A. SwartjesThe Global Symposium on Soil
Pollution | GSOP18, 2-4 Mai 2018, Rome
FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of
the United Nations)

2. 3 May 20182
OUTLINE
 Introduction
 Human health RA
(Incl Food safety)
 Bottom line

3. 40 YEARS OF GETTING USED TO IT
3 May 20183

4. RISK???!!!!!!
17 April 20184

5. 5 3 May 2018
19 out of 28
EU Member
States:
risk-based
SSVs
Risk-
based
SSVs
=

6. 3 May 20186
OUTLINE
 Introduction
 Human health RA
(incl. Food safety)
 Bottom line

7. 3 May 20187
EXPOSURE FROM SOILS
Oral
Dermal
Inhalation

8. 3 May 20188
BIOMONITORING

 Blood
 Urine
 Hair
 Nails
 Exhaled breath
 Skin tissue
 Health monitoring program

9. 3 May 20189
EXPOSURE CALCULATIONS

 Several exposure models available
 Basically same structure
 Different boundary conditions and input
parameters

10. 10
CLEA
NoName
France
NoName Sweden
Risk-net
S-Risk
JAGG
CSOIL
UMS
LUR
‘Beregningsverktøyme’

11. 3 May 201811
LEVEL PLAYING FIELD?

12. VEGETBALE CONSUMPTION
Exposure adults (mg/ kgBW/day):
x 106 (left) / x 104(right)
0
1000
2000
3000
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Cd, Res, clay, stand. inputs
0
20
40
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Benzene, Res, sand, m.-sp. inputs
3 May 2018

13. INDOOR AIR INHALATION
Exposure adults (mg/ kgBW/day):
Log transformed
3 May 2018

14. Pathways Routes of exposure
Soil > Outdoor Outdoor: soil ingestion
Outdoor: dermal exposure to soil
Outdoor: inhalation of soil vapors
Outdoor: inhalation of soil derived dust
Outdoor: inhalation of volatilized irrigation water
Soil > Indoor Indoor: dust ingestion
Indoor: dermal exposure to soil derived dust
Indoor: inhalation of soil originated vapors
Indoor: inhalation of volatilized domestic water
Soil > Diet Res. diet: uptake of homegrown vegetables
Res. diet: Ingestion of soil attached to vegetables
Res. diet: uptake of homegrown fruits
Res. diet: ingestion of soil attached to fruits
Res. diet: consumption of meat
Res. diet: consumption of diary products
Groundwater Resident diet: consumption of groundwater
Indoor: inhalation of groundwater vapors
Showering
Irrigation
Surface water dermal contact surface water (swimming)
ingestion surface water (swimming
ingestion suspended matter (swimming)
Surface water consumption of fish and shellfish
EXPOSURE PATHWAYS
(Carlon and
Swartjes, 2007)

15. SOIL INGESTION RATES
 Children: consensus
 Adults: some debate
3 May 2018

16. beetroot
potato
leek
onion
r&wcabbage
frenchbeans
tomato
endive
lettuce
cauliflower
carrot
radish
spinach
total
As
Ni
Pb
Cu
Hg
Zn
Cd
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
BCF
crop
Metal
BCF-values based on geometrical mean
As
Ni
Pb
Cu
Hg
Zn
Cd
BCF VALUES METALS
3 May 2018

17. 6 December 201717
BCFs RIVM DATASET Cu (n = 46)
0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1
1.2
1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29 31 33 35 37 39 41 43 45

 Potatoes, cauliflower, cabbage, carrot, lettuce,
beans
 pH = 4.9 – 8.4; %OM = 0.19-0.57

18. MECHANISTIC:
THREE STEP PROCEDURE
Speciation in soil
Effective
Pore water
concentration
Plant root
uptake
Concentration
plant
roots
Transport within
the plant
Concentration
edible plant
parts
Total
soil
concentration

19. REPRESENTATIVE CONCENTRATION
IN CROP
Take into account:
 Type of crop
 Soil properties
 Consumption rate-weighting
3 May 2018

20. FREUNDLICH-TYPE EQUATIONS
 Cd / Zn << Pb / Cu
 Problematic for As / Co
3 May 2018

21. As SOIL VERSUS CROP
3 May 201821

22. EXPOSURE DUE TO INHALATION
INDOOR AIR /
CONCEPTUAL MODEL (US EPA, 2017)
27 March 2017

23. 3 May 201823
EXPOSURE DUE TO INHALATION
INDOOR AIR / PROCESSES
 Convection and diffusion in
groundwater and soil air
 Sorption
 Intrusion into buildings
 Ventilation
 Degradation
 Complicated/ Relatively
unreliable

24. 3 May 201824
RESEARCH
 Abreu & Johnson (2005/2006):
position of groundwater plume/
diffusion obstacles
(α 2-5 OoM 20 m shift)
 Picone (2012):
Distribution of water in soil profile
(oxygen supply)/ degradation
(several OoM)

25. 3 May 201825
RESEARCH
 Provoost (2013).
Henry coefficient: overestimation
 Verginelli and Baciocchi (2014).
Vertical exclusion distance:
distance from the source, above
which the potential for vapor
intrusion can be considered
negligible

26. 3 May 201826
VALIDATION STUDY VAPOR
INTRUSION MODELS – INDOOR AIR
Provoost et al., 2009

27. CRITICAL EXPOSURE
 Threshold compounds
 non-carcinogens
 non-genotoxic carcinogens
 Non-threshold compounds
 genotoxic carcinogens
Distinction for calculation of critical exposure:
3 May 2018

28. 3 May 201828
OUTLINE
 Introduction
 Human health RA
 Bottom line

29. 22 May 201429
KEY MESSAGE
 Many sophisticated Risk
Assessment Tools in the EU
 Substantial differences in appraisal

30. ACTING SMART
 Multiple lines of evidence
 Combination between calculations and
measurements (contact media)
 Tiered approaches
 Experience & creativity
3 May 2018

31. KNOWLEGDE EVOLUTION HH RA
3 May 2018

32. 3 May 201832
POLICY DECISIONS
 Protection targets? Ecology?
 Conservative? Central tendency? Reasonable
Maximal Exposure?
 Access cancer: 10-4 - 10-6 lifelong exposed

33. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF
LOCAL CONDITIONS
 Groundwater tables/ design houses VERSUS
risk of indoor air inhalation
 Vegetable uptake under tropical conditions
(Jing et al., 2017; SW China)
(Dos Santos et al., 2018; Sao Paulo)
 Geophagy in South Africa
(e.g., Eijsackers al. 2015)
3 May 2018

34. HARMONIZATION
 One set of SSVs? No!!
 The same blueprint? No!
  Toolbox, including
 standardised tools
 flexible tools
3 May 2018

35. FLEXIBLE TOOLS
Accounting for differences in:
 Geography
 Cultural/ social aspects
 Policy / decision making
3 May 2018

36. 3 May 201836
Colleagues at GSOP:
THANK YOU
for your
ATTENTION !
→ frank.swartjes@rivm.nl
www.RIVM.NL

37. LINKED IN GROUP EXPOSURE
27 March 2017
Human exposure from contaminated soil,
groundwater and sediments
https://www.linkedin.com/groups/8341261