Airborne polar pesticides in rural and mountain sites of North-Eastern Italy: An emerging air quality issue

North-Eastern Italy and in particular Veneto Region, stands out as a major centre of agriculture and viticulture which has rapidly expanded in the last decade with high productivity indexes. In this context, assessing atmospheric pollution caused by crop spraying with pesticides in rural areas and their transport to high-altitude remote sites is crucial to provide a basis for understanding possible impacts on the environment and population health. We aim to improve existing methods with a highly sensitive technique by using high pressure anion exchange chromatography coupled to a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer. Thus, a total of fourteen polar pesticides were determined in aerosol samples collected from August to December 2021 at Roncade (Venetian plain) and Col Margherita Observatory (Dolomites). The observatory was chosen as the background site as it is representative of the surrounding alpine region. Some samples revealed a substantial amount of cyanuric acid mainly at Roncade (mean concentration of 10 +/- 10 ng m(-3)), glyphosate and fosetyl-aluminium (0.1 +/- 0.2 and 0.1 +/- 0.1 ng m(-3), respectively). Surprisingly, some pesticides have been also found at Col Margherita, a high mountain background site, with concentrations an order of magnitude lower than at Roncade. This is the first time that fourteen polar pesticides have been assessed in the aerosol phase of the Po' Valley and detected at a high-altitude remote site, and consequently this study provides the first data on their occurrences in Italian aerosols. It represents a basis for the assessment of risks for humans.

Automated summary

North-Eastern Italy, particularly the Veneto Region, is a significant agricultural and viticultural center that has experienced rapid expansion in recent years. This study aims to assess atmospheric pollution resulting from pesticide spraying in rural areas and its potential impacts on the environment and human health. A highly sensitive technique, high pressure anion exchange chromatography coupled to a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer, was used to analyze aerosol samples collected from two sites. The results revealed the presence of fourteen polar pesticides, including cyanuric acid, glyphosate, and fosetyl-aluminium, with varying concentrations in the aerosols.