Study links climate change with rising arsenic levels in rice, increasing cancer risks for Asians

 Study links climate change with rising arsenic levels in rice, increasing cancer risks for Asians

An increased exposure to arsenic is known to heighten the risk of cancers of the lung, bladder and skin, among others. Rice can also absorb additional arsenic from water used for cooking.

"Our results suggest that this increase in arsenic levels could significantly elevate the incidence of heart disease, diabetes, and other non-cancer health effects," author Lewis Ziska, associate professor of environmental health sciences, Columbia University, said.

Rising arsenic levels in rice

Researchers from Columbia University, US, explained that an increase in temperatures above 2 degrees Celsius and rising levels of carbon dioxide could be causing changes in soil chemistry, favouring arsenic, which gets more easily absorbed into a rice grain.

Contaminated soil and irrigated water while growing rice are known to increase inorganic arsenic in rice.

Climate change could be resulting in higher levels of arsenic in rice, potentially increasing lifetime cancer and health risks for people in Asian countries by 2050, according to a new study published in The Lancet Planetary Health journal.

According to the study, rising temperatures and CO2 levels could lead to a substantial increase in arsenic levels in rice, potentially causing tens of millions of cancer cases in Asian countries by 2050