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According to a new study published in the Lancet Planetary Health Journal, climate change can result in high levels of arsenic in rice, with an increase in lifetime cancer and health risks for people in Asian countries by 2050.
Researchers at the University of Columbia, US said that the temperature above 2 ° C and the increasing level of carbon dioxide can change soil chemistry, in favor of arsenic, which is easily absorbed into rice grains.
Contaminated soil and irrigated water during rice growth are known to increase inorganic arsenic in rice.
An increased risk for arsenic is known to increase the risk of lungs, bladder and skin cancer, among others. Rice can also absorb additional arsenic from water used for cooking.
“Our results suggest that this increase in arsenic levels can significantly increase the events of heart disease, diabetes and other non-cancer health effects,” said the author Lewis Ziska, Associate Professor of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Columbia.
“Rice is a diet staple in many parts of the world, these changes may increase a sufficient increase in the global burden of health issues related to cancer, heart diseases and other arsenic,” Ziska said.
Studies have revealed that rice consumption has been revealed that there is a major health threat to people in South and Southeast Asian countries including India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Thailand and Vietnam, where rice is the main food.
The team said that the joint effects of increasing CO2 and temperature on arsenic accumulation in rice have not been studied in detail.
In this study, researchers measured the growing temperature on 28 rice strains in the area and the effects of carbon dioxide. Using models, inorganic arsenic doses and health risks for seven Asian countries – Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Philippines and Vietnam – were estimated.
According to the study, “We found that temperature and co2 work to increase arsenic concentrations in rice, reduce dietary arsenic exposure for rice consumers and estimates cancer cases in millions of millions among the population of Asian countries in 2050.”
In 2050, the approximate average cases of bladder and lung cancer increased the ratio with exposure to arsenic, with the highest risk estimates (44 percent) with rising temperatures and carbon dioxide levels.
China was estimated to look at 1.34 million cancer cases for arsenic in rice in 2050 – the highest among the seven countries studied.
“Emerging evidence also suggests that arsenic exposure can be linked to diabetes, adverse pregnancy consequences, neurodevelopmental issues and impact of immune system,” Ziska said.
Authors suggested measures to reduce arsenic exposure, including public health initiatives as well as rice paddeds include arsenic uptake and breeding plants to reduce better soil management.
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