6 research outputs found
Arsenic Contamination in Food-chain: Transfer of Arsenic into Food Materials through Groundwater Irrigation
Arsenic contamination in groundwater in Bangladesh has become an additional concern vis-à-vis its use for irrigation purposes. Even if arsenic-safe drinking-water is assured, the question of irrigating soils with arsenic-laden groundwater will continue for years to come. Immediate attention should be given to assess the possibility of accumulating arsenic in soils through irrigation-water and its subsequent entry into the food-chain through various food crops and fodders. With this possibility in mind, arsenic content of 2,500 water, soil and vegetable samples from arsenic-affected and arsenic-unaffected areas were analyzed during 1999–2004. Other sources of foods and fodders were also analyzed. Irrigating a rice field with groundwater containing 0.55 mg/L of arsenic with a water requirement of 1,000 mm results in an estimated addition of 5.5 kg of arsenic per ha per annum. Concentration of arsenic as high as 80 mg per kg of soil was found in an area receiving arsenic-contaminated irrigation. A comparison of results from affected and unaffected areas revealed that some commonly-grown vegetables, which would usually be suitable as good sources of nourishment, accumulate substantially-elevated amounts of arsenic. For example, more than 150 mg/kg of arsenic has been found to be accumulated in arum (kochu) vegetable. Implications of arsenic ingested in vegetables and other food materials are discussed in the paper
Arsenic fixation and mobilization in the soils of the Ganges and Meghna floodplains. Impact of pedoenvironmental properties
Arsenic Contamination in Food-chain: Transfer of Arsenic into Food Materials Through Groundwater Irrigation
Arsenic contamination in groundwater in Bangladesh has become an
additional concern vis-\ue0-vis its use for irrigation purposes. Even
if arsenic-safe drinking-water is assured, the question of irrigating
soils with arsenic-laden groundwater will continue for years to come.
Immediate attention should be given to assess the possibility of
accumulating arsenic in soils through irrigation-water and its
subsequent entry into the food-chain through various food crops and
fodders. With this possibility in mind, arsenic content of 2,500 water,
soil and vegetable samples from arsenic-affected and arsenic-unaffected
areas were analyzed during 1999-2004. Other sources of foods and
fodders were also analyzed. Irrigating a rice field with groundwater
containing 0.55 mg/L of arsenic with a water requirement of 1,000 mm
results in an estimated addition of 5.5 kg of arsenic per ha per annum.
Concentration of arsenic as high as 80 mg per kg of soil was found in
an area receiving arsenic-contaminated irrigation. A comparison of
results from affected and unaffected areas revealed that some
commonly-grown vegetables, which would usually be suitable as good
sources of nourishment, accumulate substantially-elevated amounts of
arsenic. For example, more than 150 mg/kg of arsenic has been found to
be accumulated in arum (kochu) vegetable. Implications of arsenic
ingested in vegetables and other food materials are discussed in the
paper
Dynamics of Na+, K+, and Proline Accumulation in Salttreated Vigna sinensis (L) and Phaseolus aureus (L)
Arsenic in Bangladeshi soils related to physiographic region, paddy management, and mirco- and macro-elemental status
This work was done as part of a doctoral fellowship plan funded by the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the UK. We gratefully acknowledge the Computer and GIS Unit of Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC) for providing GIS files for soil mapping. The soil samples were imported into the UK under import license IMP/SOIL/6/2013 issued by Science and Advice for Scottish Agriculture. L.H.E.W. and G.D.J. acknowledge funding by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF PP00P2_133619; PP00P2_163747).Peer reviewedPostprin