Abstract

Arsenic is a chemical element present in theenvironmental from both natural and human source. Theaccumulation of the excessive amounts of arsenic in rice cancause health problems in consumer as rice is a staple foodmainly consumed in Thailand. The purpose of this study was toinvestigate the concentrations of arsenic in local rice grains andto assess the exposure to arsenic through local rice consumption.Rice samples were randomly collected from three sub districtsof Ron Phibun district based on the rice cultivation areas. Theconcentrations of arsenic contaminated in rice samplecultivated in Ron Phibun district, southern Thailand, theabandoned tin mining site, were investigated using inductivelycoupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES)coupled with microwave-assisted technique under highpressure and temperature conditions. The estimated dailyintake, common index for metal transfer from plant to human,was used to assess the health risk from arsenic through localrice consumption. It is found that the arsenic concentrationswere in the range of 0.291-1.361 mg/kg which were lower thanThai FDA recommendation. The estimated daily intake (EDI)of arsenic by the local people ranged from 1.522 to 7.120 g/daykg body weight. Although the estimated daily intake values ofarsenic through rice consumption were lower than the standard,the potential health risk from exposure to arsenic need moreattention.