ARSENIC LEVEL IN RICE OF THE US, ITS POSSIBLE LINKS TO SOIL ARSENIC AND HIGHER BLOOD ARSENIC LEVEL IN ASIAN AMERICANS

Our experimental measurement of arsenic levels of ten rice samples from different regions of the US using acid digestion and ICP has indicated that arsenic levels are relatively higher in the long-grain rice produced in the southeastern US. This result is consistent with the data reported in from some of the previous studies. In addition, our study also indicates that soil arsenic level is relatively higher in the southeastern states of the US. Rice generally grows in a reducing environment where arsenic tends to be more mobile than in an oxidizing environment. Higher arsenic levels in soil of a reducing environment tend to help increase the plant available arsenic level in water. This condition facilitates the arsenic intake in rice crops of the southeastern US states. Our analyses of blood sample data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey between 1999 and 2014 for the US population indicates that overall blood level of arsenic in Asian Americans is significantly higher than that of the general population in the US. We suspect that the higher rice diet might have contributed to this issue.

Corresponding author email: hsun@rider.edu