Arsenic may contaminate rice and drinking water, exposing pregnant women and their fetuses to health risks

Your patients may unknowingly develop arsenic exposure due to contaminated water and rice. A recent article published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences describes how arsenic toxicity was identified in contaminated food and water, and how it can potentially lead to toxicity in at-risk patients.

Fetal arsenic exposure is a public health concern. In public health studies, women whose urine contains arsenic have given birth to infants with low weight, and fetal arsenic exposure can also cause infant death. Since most countries do not regulate arsenic levels in food, there is a need to do so to prevent toxicity.

“Indian people consume an average of 165 g/day of rice. They are consuming up to 1,469 mcg/day arsenic through rice cooked in arsenic-contaminated water.”
-Sushant Singh, PhD, MS, Environmental Sciences, India, Graduate Research Assistant (Environmental Management), Department of Earth and Environmental Studies, Montclair State University, NJ, USA, and Jawaharlal Nehru Fellow

New data suggest that arsenic may contaminate rice and drinking water. Those at the greatest risk for arsenic toxicity are...