Etrace Express: software for risk analysis of trace elements in inorganic fertilizers post application

摘要

Trace Elements are generally present in inorganic fertilizers as by-products or contaminants. There are however some trace elements that are plant nutrients and are intentionally included in fertilizer formulations. It is acknowledged that exposure tohigh levels of trace elements (nutrient or not) could pose a health risk to humans. This risk may be estimated by evaluation models. Thus, this work presents a tool, the software Etrace Express, for easy calculation of Risk Based Concentrations of traceelements in inorganic fertilizers post application, which suggest safe limits for agricultural use. The main purpose of this version was to calculate values of trace element concentrations in inorganic fertilizers that may, flexibly, be used by regulators aiming to protect the human health. Etrace Express was based on a model developed for a document prepared by The Fertilizer Institute (TFI, United States) for the US scenario of fertilizer use, entitled "Health Risk Evaluation of Selected Metals in Inorganic Fertilizers Post Application". RBCs calculated by Etrace Express for the US scenario matched those values presented in TFI's document. We thus used Etrace Express to obtain RBCs for the Brazilian scenario. The advantage of using such software isthe easiness of customizing parameters for specific scenarios very rapidly.