Abstract
Lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), arsenic (As), chromium (Cr), and nickel (Ni) are poisonous, widely distributed, persistent, and transferable to crops, posing potential health risks. This study aims to assess the potential health risks of those elements in rice collected from North-Central Vietnam: Thanh Hoa, Nghe An, and Ha Tinh provinces. Element analysis was performed on rice harvested in November 2020 by ICP-MS. The estimated daily intake (EDI), target hazard quotient (THQ), non-carcinogenic hazard index (HI), and target carcinogenic risk (TR) were used to assess potential health risks for different population groups. The highest element levels (mg kg−1 dry weight) were observed for Cr (0.30 ± 0.11), As (0.17 ± 0.025) and for Pb (0.24 ± 0.013) in Thanh Hoa, and for Cd (0.088 ± 0.015) in Ha Tinh. Strong links were observed between geological formations, mining activities and Cr in rice (Thanh Hoa), or industrial activities and Ni accumulation in rice (Hung Nguyen and Ky Anh districts). Children had greater EDIs than adults, with As having a higher EDI than RfD. Rice THQs indicated a risk trend: Thanh Hoa > Ha Tinh > Nghe An, with As being a significant contributor to HIs. Cr and Cd were significant risk factors and HIs in female children were 1.5 times higher than in other groups. Based on TR values for Ni and Pb, a potential carcinogenic risk to rice eaters was observed, particularly Ni. The data revealed a significant human health risk (both non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic) connected with rice consumption. Therefore, crops and foods from North-Central Vietnam should be strictly regulated.
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The datasets used in this study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
This research is partly funded by Internship Program for Ms. Nguyen Quynh from International Environmental Research Institute (IERI) at Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) in spring 2020. We'd also like to thank our students, Phong and Tung, for assisting us with the rice sample collection and processing. We are grateful to Ms. Nguyen Quynh Anh from Vietnam Institute of Geosciences and Mineral Resources and Ms. Eunkyung Cho from Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology for their contributions in measuring trace elements from rice samples.
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TLT: Investigation, Methodology, Writing original draft—Review and Editing. KKW.: Resource, Validation. DNQ: Validation, Conceptualization. HNTT: Conceptualization, Methodology, Writing—Review and Editing, Supervision. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
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Le, T.T., Kim, KW., Nguyen, D.Q. et al. Trace element contamination in rice and its potential health risks to consumers in North-Central Vietnam. Environ Geochem Health 45, 3361–3375 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-022-01415-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-022-01415-5