An unprecedented probe into high levels of arsenic in Bangladesh's groundwater strengthens suspicions that eating rice boosts exposure to the poison, scientists said on November 18. Samples provided by 18,470 volunteers living in an arsenic-contaminated district showed that those who ate large amounts of rice had higher levels of arsenic in their urine than those who ate little rice, they said.
In addition, the big rice-eaters also had more symptoms of arsenic toxicity, such as skin lesions. The paper, published in the peer-reviewed journal PLOS One, is the biggest-ever probe into whether arsenic-tainted groundwater in Bangladesh poses a risk for people who consume rice, the staple food.
The study demonstrates "arsenic in water and the food chain is a serious problem", said Parvez Haris, a specialist in environmental biomedicine at De Montfort University in the central English city of Leicester.
"(It) also shows that exposure to arsenic from rice can have harmful effects on human health, as it correlated with increased prevalence and incidence of skin lesions."
Arsenic in groundwater in parts of Bangladesh is a growing concern, say watchdogs. The toxic element occurs in water naturally - the problem is that tens of millions of rural dwellers are exposed to it through shallow wells drilled in the 1970s in "access-to-water" programmes.
Most investigations have focused on the risk from drinking water, but there is now widening interest in whether the poison can also be passed on in rice, through irrigated fields.
The study was conducted in the district of Araihazar, Dhaka state. Arsenic levels in the local rice were not determined in the study, although contamination of the area's water is well known. There are nearly 6,000 wells in an area of just 25 square kilometres (9.6 square miles).
The work could also have implications for other parts of the world where there can be relatively high levels of arsenic in rice, said the authors. Parts of Cambodia, China, India and Vietnam fall into this category.
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