Arsenic and cadmium in food-chain Conclusions This exploratory study has shown that arsenic and cadmium have entered the food-chain of Bangla- desh and identified rice and vegetables as major sources of arsenic and cadmium. Both arsenic and cadmium are easily available in the environment, and the exposure via food, water, and other occu- pational sources can contribute to a spectrum of diseases (36). Since exposure to toxic metals has be- come an increasingly-recognized cause of morbidi- ty globally (26,27,37), it is necessary to identify the additional toxicants, e.g. lead, manganese, chromi- um, and cobalt, that may enter into the food-chain from agricultural and industrial activities. ACKNOWLEDGEMENtS This study was funded by ICDDR,B. ICDDR,B grate- fully acknowledges the following donors which provide unrestricted support to the Centre’s re- search efforts: Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID), Government of the Peo- ple’s Republic of Bangladesh, Canadian Interna- tional Development Agency (CIDA), Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands (EKN), Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), and Department for International Develop- ment, UK (DFID). The authors thank Dr. G.B. Nair for his support and are very grateful to Dr. Rubhana Raqib for her con- structive suggestion, critique, and ideas to prepare the manuscript at different stages. The first two authors contributed equally to con- struct the manuscript, and the other authors con- tributed by planning, editing, and reviewing and by adding potential information to make it more precise. rEFErENCES 1. International Agency for Research on Cancer. Some drinking-water disinfectants and contaminants, in- cluding arsenic. Lyon: International Agency for Re- search on Cancer, 2004. 512 p. (IARC monographs on the evaluation of carcinogenic risks to humans, v. 84). 2. British Geological Survey. Arsenic contamination of groundwater in Bangladesh. V. 2. Final report. Key- worth: British Geological Survey, 2001. 16 p. (BGS technical report no. WC/00/19). 3. Smith AH, Lingas EO, Rahman M. Contamina- tion of drinking-water by arsenic in Bangladesh: a public health emergency. Bull World Health Organ 2000;78:1093-103. 4. Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Addi- tives. Seventy-second meeting, Rome, 16-25 February Volume 28 | Number 6 | December 2010 Khan SI et al. 2010: summary and conclusions. Rome: Joint FAO/ WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives, 2010, 16 p. (JECFA/72/SC.2010). 5. Ravenscroft P, Brammer H, Richards K. Arsenic pollu- tion: a global synthesis. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009:168. 6. Lokuge KM, Smith W, Caldwell B, Dear K, Milton AH. The effect of arsenic mitigation interventions on disease burden in Bangladesh. Environ Health Perspect 2004;112:1172-7. 7. Uddin S, Khan AS. Arsenic contamination of irriga- tion tubewells in Sharsha upazilla, Jessore. Dhaka: Asia Arsenic Network, JICA/AAN Arsenic Mitigation Project, 2004. 13 p. 8. Zahidul I. Irrigation. In: Banglapedia: national en- cyclopedia of Bangladesh. Dhaka: Asiatic Socie- ty of Bangladesh, 2003. (http://www.banglapedia. org/httpdocs/HT/I_0095.HTM, accessed on 16 Sep- tember 2010). 9. Huq SM, Naidu R. Arsenic in ground water and con- tamination of the food chain: Bangladesh scenario. In: Bundschuh J, Bhattacharya P, Chandrasekharam D, editors. Natural arsenic in ground water: occur- rence, remediation and management. London: Tay- lor & Frances Group, 2005:95-100. 10. Meharg AA, Rahman MM. Arsenic contamination of Bangladesh paddy field soils: implications for rice contribution to arsenic consumption. Environ Sci Technol 2003;37:229-34. 11. Jakariya MD, Rahman M, Chowdhury AMR, Rah- man M, Yunus MD, Bhiuya A et al. Sustainable safe water options in Bangladesh: experiences from the Arsenic Project at Matlab (AsMat). In: Bundschuh J, Bhattacharya P, Chandrashekharam D, editors. Natu- ral arsenic in groundwater: occurrence, remediation and management. London: Taylor & Frances Group, 2005;319:30. 12. Rahman M, Vahter M, Wahed MA, Sohel N, Yunus M, Streatfield PK et al. Prevalence of arsenic expo- sure and skin lesions. A population based survey in Matlab, Bangladesh. J Epidemiol Community Health 2006;60:242-8. 13. Wahed MA, Chowdhury D, Nermell B, Khan SI, Ilias M, Rahman M et al. A modified routine analysis of arsenic content in drinking-water in Bangladesh by hydride generation-atomic absorption spectropho- tometry. J Health Popul Nutr 2006;24:36-41. 14. Association of Official Analytical Chemists. Official methods of analysis of the Association of Official An- alytical Chemists. 15th ed. Arlington, VA: Association of Official Analytical Chemists, 1990:237-9. 15. Foodstuffs. Shimadzu atomic absorption spectropho- tometry cookbook. Section 6. Kyoto: Shimadzu Cor- poration, 1997:1. 583