Arsenic from groundwater into soils, plants and the food chain: Complementary case studies from West Bengal, Inner Mongolia and the Red River Delta, Vietnam

摘要

Food patterns widely vary in Southeast- and East-Asian regions affected by arsenic (As) contaminated groundwaters. Not only drinking water and staple food such as rice contribute to the total As intake, but also more locally used food. This study focuses on three very different regions in Asia affected by As contaminated groundwater. The pattern of food is varying in these regions and so is the As intake. Similar to all regions is the accumulation of As in agricultural soils-still available as As source even when As is banned from irrigation water.