Bangladesh: arsenic in food chain raises health concerns

A high concentration of arsenic in the water and soil is infiltrating Bangladesh’s food chain, raising serious health concerns for millions of residents, specialists warn.

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According to new field surveys of arsenic contamination in soil, water and plants in various parts of the country by scientists from Japan’s Nihon University and local researchers, arsenic was found in all types of crops in the worst-affected areas.

An earlier survey by scientists of the School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, UK, analysed 330 samples of “aman” (rain-fed) and “boro” (irrigated) rice, 94 vegetables and 50 pulse and spice samples for arsenic and found that the districts with the highest mean arsenic rice grain levels were all in the south-west.

Read more: IRIN, 19 Sep 2008