Geographical variation in total and inorganic arsenic content of polished (white) rice.
An extensive data set of total arsenic analysis for 901 polished (white) grain samples, originating from 10 countries from 4 continents, was compiled. The samples represented the baseline (i.e., notspecifically collected from arsenic contaminated areas), and all were for market sale in major conurbations. Median total arsenic contents of rice varied 7-fold, with Egypt (0.04 mg/kg) and India (0.07 mg/kg) having the lowest arsenic content while the U.S. (0.25 mg/kg) and France (0.28 mg/kg) had the highest content. Global distribution of total arsenic in rice was modeled by weighting each country's arsenic distribution by that country's contribution to global production. A subset of 63 samples from Bangladesh, China, India, Italy, and the U.S. was analyzed for arsenic species. The relationship between inorganic arsenic contentversus total arsenic contentsignificantly differed among countries, with Bangladesh and India having the steepest slope in linear regression, and the U.S. having the shallowest slope. Using country-specific rice consumption data, daily intake of inorganic arsenic was estimated and the associated internal cancer risk was calculated using the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) cancer slope. Median excess internal cancer risks posed by inorganic arsenic ranged 30-fold for the 5 countries examined, being 0.7 per 10,000 for Italians to 22 per 10,000 for Bangladeshis, when a 60 kg person was considered.
Meharg
Andrew A
AA
Institute of Biological and Environmental Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Cruickshank Building, St. Machar Drive, Aberdeen, AB24 3UU, UK. a.meharg@abdn.ac.uk
Williams
Paul N
PN
Adomako
Eureka
E
Lawgali
Youssef Y
YY
Deacon
Claire
C
Villada
Antia
A
Cambell
Robert C J
RC
Sun
Guoxin
G
Zhu
Yong-Guan
YG
Feldmann
Joerg
J
Raab
Andrea
A
Zhao
Fang-Jie
FJ
Islam
Rafiqul
R
Hossain
Shahid
S
Yanai
Junta
J
D001151:Arsenic / Q000032:analysis*; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005843:Geography; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000453:epidemiology; D012275:Oryza / Q000737:chemistry*; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012307:Risk Factors
D001151:Arsenic