Human exposure to arsenic through foodstuffs cultivated using arsenic contaminated groundwater in areas of West Bengal, India

Abstract

The widespread incidence of chronic arsenicosis in the Bengal Delta has led to intensive research on arsenic (As) enrichment in groundwater as well as accumulation in foodstuffs, as there are potential health risks associated with exposure to As from both sources. This study deals with human As exposure through the drinking of groundwater, consumption of locally grown foodstuffs (e.g., crops and vegetables) and cooked food in Nadia district, West Bengal. Groundwater and foodstuffs were collected and analyzed with FI-HG-AAS to estimate the total As content. Urine samples collected from human subjects were analyzed to assess the As exposure. Two major crops, boro and aman rice, showed a considerable amount of As, with mean values of 194 and 156 μg kg(-1), respectively. Significant levels of As were also found in other common crops and vegetables cultivated in this area (for example, the mean As in Arum and radish was 780 and 674 μg kg(-1), respectively). Total intake of As from foodstuffs by adults (560 μg day(-1)) and children (393 μg day(-1)) in the area was found to be at alarming levels. Arsenic exposure was demonstrated by the presence of As in urine (ranging between 154 and 276 μg L(-1)), with overall As retention of 50-60 %. The results of this study further indicate the potential risk of As exposure to local inhabitants through the food chain which is associated with continuous consumption of As-contaminated foodstuffs. Therefore, more action needs to be taken to control the contamination pathways (such as the water-soil-crop system) to protect humans from continuous ingestion of As through foodstuffs.

Assessment of Arsenic Accumulation by Different Varieties of Rice (Oryza sativa L.) Irrigated with Arsenic-contaminated Groundwater in West Bengal (India)

“…Nine out of the total twenty districts of West Bengal have groundwater arsenic contamination [1,2]. Arsenic accumulation in rice straw argued to cause threat to cattle population and, thus contaminated meat and milk may indirectly cause further threat to humans, especially children [3,4].…”

A Greenhouse Pot Experiment to Study Arsenic Accumulation in Rice Varieties Selected from Gangetic Bengal, India

“…The average arsenic concentration in the paddy fi eld soil of West Bengal was reported to be just below 10 mg kg −1 , the global average arsenic level in agricultural soil (Das et al 2002 ;Bhattacharya et al 2010a , b ;Samal et al 2011 ). The comparison of arsenic accumulation in grain of the six rice varieties in the present study at 10 mg kg −1 arsenic dosing showed that CNHR 3, a high yielding rice variety was the highest accumulator of arsenic (0.90 ± 0.15 mg kg −1 dry weight) while Nayanmani , a local rice variety was the lowest accumulator (0.48 ± 0.15 mg kg −1 dry weight).…”

Status of Soil Pollution in India

“…Further the people having poor nutrition were found to be more vulnerable to As toxicity than the people having adequate nutrition (Santra et al 2013). Contamination of food chain and daily intake of As by human through food and drinking water was estimated in Nadia district where unsafe levels of the element in groundwater in widely prevalent (Samal et al 2011). Average concentrations of As in drinking water and commonly grown food in the area were 16 μg L À1 in drinking water, 156-194 μg kg À1 in rice, 69-780 μg kg À1 in vegetables and 24.7 μg kg À1 in pulse (lentil).…”