Arsenic concentration in rice, fish, meat and vegetables in Cambodia: a preliminary risk assessment

• Published in: Environmental geochemistry and health Vol. 35; no. 6; pp. 745 - 755
• Main Authors: Wang, Hong-Sheng, Sthiannopkao, Suthipong, Chen, Zhuo-Jia, Man, Yu-Bon, Du, Jun, Xing, Guang-Hua, Kim, Kyoung-Woong, Mohamed Yasin, Mohamed Salleh, Hashim, Jamal Hisham, Wong, Ming-Hung
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01.12.2013; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Animals; Arsenic; Arsenic - analysis; Cambodia; Diet; Drinking water; Earth and Environmental Science; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Exposure; Environmental Health; Environmental Monitoring; Environmental Pollutants - analysis; Fishes; Food; Food contamination; Food contamination & poisoning; Food Contamination - analysis; Geochemistry; Health risks; Humans; Land pollution; Meat - analysis; Original Paper; Oryza - chemistry; Oryza sativa; Public Health; Risk Assessment; Soil Science & Conservation; Terrestrial Pollution; Vegetables - chemistry; Cambodia; Cambodia, Kandal Prov; Dietary intake; Cambodia; Food consumption; Risk assessment; Arsenic (As)
• ISSN: 0269-4042; 1573-2983
• DOI: 10.1007/s10653-013-9532-0

To assess arsenic contaminations and its possible adverse health effects, food samples were collected from Kandal, Kratie and Kampong Cham in Cambodia. The highest and the lowest concentrations were observed in fish (mean 2,832 ng g −1 , ww) collected from Kandal province and cattle stomach (1.86 ± 1.10 ng g −1 , ww) collected from Kratie, respectively. The daily intake of arsenic via food consumption was 604, 9.70 and 136 μg day −1 in Kandal, Kratie and Kampong Cham, respectively. The arsenic dietary intake in Kandal ranked No. 1 among all the 17 compared countries or regions. Fish consumption contributed the greatest proportion of total arsenic daily intake in Kandal (about 63.0 %) and Kampong Cham (about 69.8 %). It is revealed to be a much more important exposure pathway than drinking water for residents in Kampong Cham. The results of risk assessment suggested that the residents in Cambodia, particularly for people in Kandal province, suffer high public health risks due to consuming arsenic-contaminated food.