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A new study finds that honeybees forging across the U.S. ingest local pollutants, including arsenic and lead, which are detected in their honey.
Extensive foraging means honeybees interact with air, water, soil, nectar, and pollen across large areas, transporting environmental contaminants, according to the study published in the journal Environmental Pollution this week.
More than 260 samples were taken between 2020 and 2024 across 48 states to look for six toxic metals: arsenic, lead, cadmium, nickel, chromium and cobalt. These heavy metals were found around the country in local honey in the first large biomonitoring study of honey in the U.S.
File image: Honey bees crawling on the outside of the hive. (Photo by: Edwin Remsberg/VWPics/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
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According to the study, particularly high levels of arsenic were found in northwestern states, and high levels of cobalt were detected in honey from the Southeast. Arsenic was found in 89% of all samples, with the highest concentrations in Oregon and Washington.
Cadmium was detected in all but one honey sample. Lead was found in 97% of the samples, with the highest levels in North Carolina, South Carolina, Utah, and Louisiana.
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However, the study authors note that all honey samples have a hazard quotient and hazard index values below 1 for children and adults, based on the assumption of consuming one tablespoon of honey daily.
Based on this initial study, the levels detected in the honey samples do not currently raise health concerns. Still, researchers say toxic metal concentrations found in honey warrant further investigation to determine the source of these metals and any public health risk, particularly for arsenic.
The study authors said the results show monitoring honey can help monitor local pollutants and pollution trends.
“What we found is that this appears to serve as a good proxy for uncovering regional contamination patterns,” said study lead author Tewodros Godebo, assistant professor of environmental health sciences at Tulane University. “But there’s a lot we may still learn from bees about what pollutants are present in the environment and how those relate to nearby community health outcomes.”