Abstract
Background.Arsenic bioaccumulation in rice is a global concern affecting food security and public health.Objective.The present study examined arsenic species in rice in Cambodia to characterize health risks with rice consumption and to clarify uncertainties with Codex guidelines.Methods.The present study collected 61 well water samples, 105 rice samples, 70 soil samples, and conducted interviews with 44 families in Preak Russey near the Bassac River and Kandal Province along the Mekong River in Cambodia. Analyses of metals, total arsenic and arsenic species were conducted in laboratories in Canada, Cambodia and Singapore.Results.Unlike in Bangladesh, rice with the highest total arsenic concentrations in Cambodia contains mostly organic arsenic, dimethylarsinic acid (DMA), which is unregulated and much less toxic than inorganic arsenic. The present study found that storing surface runoff in ditches prior to irrigation can significantly reduce the arsenic concentration in rice. It is possible to remove > 95% of arsenic from groundwater prior to irrigation with natural reactions.Conclusions.The provision of high quality drinking water in 2015 to Preak Russey removed about 95% of the dietary inorganic arsenic exposure. The extremes in arsenic toxicity that are still obvious in these farmers should become less common. Rice from the site with the highest documented levels of arsenic in soils and water in Cambodia passes current Codex guidelines for arsenic.Informed Consent.ObtainedCompeting Interests.The authors declare no competing financial interests.
Highlights
Arsenic bioaccumulation into rice is a major global concern affecting food security and public health
The present study found that storing surface runoff in ditches prior to irrigation can significantly reduce the arsenic concentration in rice
The concentration of inorganic arsenic in rice was lower than the total arsenic in rice and the correlation between total arsenic in water and inorganic arsenic in rice was stronger (Figure 3)
Summary
Arsenic bioaccumulation into rice is a major global concern affecting food security and public health. Graziano stated in 2010 that one in five deaths in Bangladesh was related to arsenic.[1] The primary source of arsenic in Bangladesh, Cambodia, and several other countries in South and Southeast Asia is arsenopyrite oxidation, which naturally occurs in rocks in the Himalayan Mountains.[2]. This process releases arsenic into solution which binds to sediments in the Mekong River which flows from the Himalayan Mountains to form soils in Cambodia. Arsenic bioaccumulation in rice is a global concern affecting food security and public health.
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