Abstract
A detailed field study was carried out to monitor (i) the arsenic contents in irrigation groundwater and paddy soil and (ii) the accumulation of arsenic in the roots and grains of different paddy varieties grown in the arsenic-contaminated middle Indo-Gangetic Plains of Northern India. Results showed the highest arsenic contamination in the irrigation groundwater (312μgl(-1)) and in paddy soil (35mgkg(-1)) values that were significantly exceeded the recommended threshold values of 100μgl(-1) (EU) and 20mgkg(-1) (FAO), respectively. The paddy soil arsenic content ranged from 3 to 35mgkg(-1) with a mean value of 15mgkg(-1). The soil arsenic content was found to be influenced by the soil texture, carbon, macronutrients, phosphorus, sulfur, hydrolases, and oxidoreductases properties of the paddy soils as revealed in the principal component analyses. Higher root accumulation (>10mgkg(-1)) of arsenic was observed in 6 of the 17 paddy varieties grown in the study area. The range of arsenic content accumulated in the paddy roots was 4.1 to 16.2mgkg(-1) dry weight (dw) and in the grains 0.179 to 0.932mgkg(-1) dw. Out of 17 paddy varieties, eight had 0 > .55mgkg(-1) grain arsenic content and were found unsafe for subsistence maximum daily tolerable dietary intake (MTDI) by human beings according to the regulatory standards.
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