A systematic workflow of data mining confirms widespread ecological risks of SDHIs fungicides contamination in...

Succinate dehydrogenase inhibitors (SDHIs) are widely utilized fungicides that have been detected in various environments, raising significant concerns regarding their toxicity to aquatic organisms. A comprehensive analysis of SDHIs contamination and associated ecological risks has been challenging due to scattered data and varying scale. This study consolidated residue data from 194 aquatic environments across six regions, up to June 2024, providing an overview of SDHIs distribution and conducting a global-scale aquatic ecological risk assessment. We analyzed 20 SDHIs, with boscalid, fluopyram, flutolanil, fluxapyroxad, mepronil, and thifluzamide being the most frequently detected across Asia, Europe, North America, South America, Africa, and Australia. The concentrations and types of SDHIs varied significantly among continents, with data sourced from water, sediment and aquatic organisms. Utilizing a web-based Interspecies Correlation Estimation-Species Sensitivity Distribution (ICE-SSD) model, we identified substantial sensitivity differences among species, with benzovindiflupyr showing the lowest LC₅₀ of 3.5 μg/L, indicating a high risk when concentrations exceed 0.035 μg/L (Maximum Acceptable Concentration, MAC). Risk quotient (RQ) values revealed that flutolanil posed high risks to eight aquatic ecosystems and medium risks to five, while boscalid presented medium risk to one ecosystem. Our findings also demonstrated a significant correlation between the aquatic ecotoxicity of SDHIs and their characteristics (log Kow, solubility, and pKa). Collectively, we advocate for the restricted use of SDHIs and emphasize the necessity for further evaluation of their environmental behavior and integrated risks within the "One Health" framework.