Arsenic Content of Raw and Cooked Rice and Vegetables Grown in Matlab Area of Chandpur District of Bangladesh

Samples of rice and some vegetables (Amaranth leaves, arum stem, green banana, amaranth stick, brinjal, potato) were collected from Uttamdi and Naojam villages of Matlab area of Chandpur district, Bangladesh and were analyzed for arsenic (As) content by Hydride Generation Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry (HG-AAS). Both raw and cooked samples of the food items were studied. The As concentration in raw rice was 239.1 ± 13.68 μg/Kg, whereas the value was 56.34 ± 22.95 μg/Kg in cooked rice. The reduction in As content was 76.4%, presumably the loss of As was due to discarding of the bran after cooking the rice. In contrast, the mean As concentrations in raw and cooked amaranth were 22.8 ± 3.76 and 145.6 ± 141.39 μg/Kg, in raw and cooked arum were 7.03 ± 0.07 and 110.33 ± 100.4 μg/Kg respectively. There were thus remarkable increases of As concentrations in cooked vegetables compared to raw. The higher concentration of cooked vegetables was presumably due to cooking with As contaminated tube-well water containing a high concentration of As. The results of this study showed the high potential for chronic exposure to As contamination of the villagers consuming these locally grown foodstuff. Arsenic (As) pollution of ground water has been recognized as an acute environmental problem in Bangladesh. Groundwater is the primary source of drinking water for the inhabitants of rural Bangladesh, with approximately 95% of the population are consuming water obtained from bore whole wells (tube-wells). Conservative estimates indicate that in Bangladesh, about 30 million people are exposed to the risk of being affected by arsenic contaminated water and about 220,000 people are suffering from arsenic related diseases ranging from melanosis to skin cancer.(1) The presence of arsenic above the limit of safe drinking water (50 μg/l)(2) was first detected in ground water of the Bengal Delta Plain (BDP) aquifers in Bangladesh in 1993.(3) The main route of As exposure for the general population is via drinking water. Most groundwater used for irrigation in Bangladesh are contaminated with arsenic.(4) Arsenic enters into the human body through drinking of