title: Consumption of arsenic and other elements from vegetables and drinking water from an arsenic-contaminated area of Bangladesh.
abstract: The study assesses the daily consumption by adults of arsenic (As) and other elements in drinking water and home-grown vegetables in a severely As-contaminated area of Bangladesh. Most of the examined elements in drinking water were below the World Health Organization (WHO) guideline values except As. The median concentrations of As, cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), cobalt (Co), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), Mn, nickel (Ni), and zinc (Zn) in vegetables were 90 μg kg(-1), 111 μg kg(-1), 0.80 mg kg(-1), 168 μg kg(-1), 13 mg kg(-1), 2.1 mg kg(-1), 65 mg kg(-1), 1.7 mg kg(-1), and 50 mg kg(-1), respectively. Daily intakes of As, Cd, Cr, Co, Cu, Pb, manganese (Mn), Ni, and Zn from vegetables and drinking water for adults were 839 μg, 2.9 μg, 20.8 μg, 5.5 μg, 0.35 mg, 56.4 μg, 2.0mg, 49.1 μg, and 1.3mg, respectively. The health risks from consuming vegetables were estimated by comparing these figures with the WHO/FAO provisional tolerable weekly or daily intake (PTWI or PTDI). Vegetables alone contribute 0.05 μg of As and 0.008 mg of Cu per kg of body weight (bw) daily; 0.42 μg of Cd, 8.77 mg of Pb, and 0.03 mg of Zn per kg bw weekly. Other food sources and particularly dietary staple rice need to be evaluated to determine the exact health risks from such foods.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Environmental Risk Assessment and Remediation (CERAR), University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes Campus, Mawson Lakes, South Australia, SA 5095, Australia; Cooperative Research Centre for Contamination Assessment and Remediation of the Environment (CRC-CARE), P.O. Box 486, Salisbury South, SA 5106, Australia.
authors.forename: Mohammad Mahmudur
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Rahman
authors.forename: Md
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Asaduzzaman
authors.forename: Ravi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Naidu
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001151:Arsenic / Q000032:analysis*; D001459:Bangladesh; D002648:Child; D004032:Diet; D060766:Drinking Water / Q000737:chemistry*; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000032:analysis; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods; D005260:Female; D005506:Food Contamination; D060587:Groundwater; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008670:Metals / Q000737:chemistry; D008875:Middle Aged; D012306:Risk; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D014675:Vegetables / Q000737:chemistry*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*; D018508:Water Purification; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D060766:Drinking Water; D008670:Metals; D012989:Soil Pollutants; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D001151:Arsenic