Do Emerging Contaminants Translocate from Soil to Lettuce?

Bisphenol A (BPA), nonylphenol (4-NP), benzophenone (BP), and benzophenone-3 (BP-3) are emerging contaminants (ECs) having the potential to enter the soil and food, and cause adverse effects in humans, wildlife, and the environment. In order to understand the potential translocation to edible vegetables and risk for humans due to their consumption, lettuce was cultivated for 54 d on artificially polluted soils and uncontaminated (blank) soil. BPA contamination in soil resulted in a very rapid degradation and no BPA was found in the vegetable. Lettuce from the 4-NP contaminated pot had higher concentrations compared to the vegetables from the blank pot; p-cresol was the most frequently detected 4-NP degradation product. BP and BP-3 concentrations in lettuce from the contaminated pot and the uncontaminated pot were similar.