Cumulative risk assessment of the exposure to pyrethroids through fruits consumption in China – Based on a 3-year investigation

In the present study, the long-term and short-term cumulative risks of pyrethroids exposured for the Chinese general population and children through fruits consumption were evaluated. A total of 1450 fruit samples and seven pyrethroids were included based on the pesticide residues monitoring programme of China from 2013 to 2015. The exposure was estimated using both deterministic approach and semi-probabilistic model for comparison. The hazard index approach was used to assess cumulative risk. 26% of samples contained pyrethroid residues with concentrations ranged from 0.0050 mg/kg to 1.2 mg/kg, of which 30% simultaneously with 2-4 mixture residues. Results demonstrated that the cumulative health risks were extremely low for both general population and children (1-6 years old) of China in the long term. Acute risk estimations calculated by deterministic method were several or many times overestimated than the results based on semi-probabilistic method. Acute cumulative exposure of children to pyrethroid compounds in 0.76% samples were exceeded 1 in worst case scenario. More detailed assessments with adequate data in the future use probabilistic method is expected to reduce the uncertainties of cumulative dietary exposure.