Arsenic Found in Wheat, Potato in Rural Bihar

Table of Contents

Relevance

GS 2: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.

Recently, scientists-led research has confirmed the presence of arsenic in food chain in Bihar through irrigation water.
It was found that three common eatables — rice, wheat and potato — had elevated levels of arsenic that consequently increases the disease burden in exposed persons.

This is the first study where a detailed dietary assessment was conducted on arsenic exposed populations of Bihar to estimate the arsenic exposure from the three major staple foods, cooked rice, wheat flour and potato
Arsenic contamination in groundwater was a growing concern in several parts of the country. Now, the chemical has found its way into the food chain through rice, wheat and potato.
Arsenic contamination in drinking water is not new in Bihar.
This time, however, it was observed that in several samples, arsenic content in food items was higher than that in drinking water.
Moreover, the concentration was higher in cooked rice compared to raw rice.
The results emphasise the importance of food-related exposure in arsenic-endemic areas, particularly the areas with high arsenic concentrations in drinking water.

At least 77% of households had an arsenic concentration in drinking water below the WHO guideline value of 10 μg / L.
At least 37% used some form of improved water for drinking, indicating that a significant proportion of drinking water in the studied population may have had arsenic levels lower than 10 μg / L.
The median contribution of food to overall arsenic exposure was 36 per cent when drinking water exposure was below 10 μg / L.
- Contrary to previous studies, food was found to contribute more to arsenic poisoning than drinking water when the arsenic concentration in drinking water was above 10 μg / L.

Out of the total districts in Bihar, 22 were reported to have arsenic in drinking water above the WHO provisional guide value of 10 μg / L.
More than 9 million people were estimated to be drinking water with arsenic above 10 μg / L and 33% of the tested hand tube wells samples normally used for drinking water had arsenic above the WHO provisional guide value.