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Rice is the staple food of Bangladeshi people and is consumed at least twice a day. Thus, the presence of toxic metals in rice grains has become a major public health concern in Bangladesh. The present research was conducted to investigate the concentrations of toxic metals in rice grains and their possible human health risks in the Tangail district of Bangladesh. Toxic metals were measured by using an inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer (ICP-MS), and the mean concentrations of toxic metals in rice samples were found in order of Cr > Pb > Ni > As > Cu > Cd. The concentrations of Cr, Pb, As, and Cd in the studied rice grain samples exceeded the FAO/WHO standard values for food samples by 100%, whereas the Ni concentrations by 10%. The principal component analysis (PCA) revealed significant anthropogenic contributions of Cr, Ni, As, and Pb concentrations in rice grains. The metal concentrations in rice grain samples showed strong significant correlations by forming primary clusters with each other. The estimated daily intake (EDI) values of Cr, Ni, As, Cd, and Pb from all samples were higher than the maximum tolerable daily intake (MTDI) allowed. The total targeted hazard quotient (TTHQ) values of Cu, Ni, As, Cd, and Pb also exceeded the threshold value of 1.00, indicating a potential non-carcinogenic risk. The estimated target carcinogenic risk of As was higher than the USEPA threshold level 10−4 (0.0001) indicating increased risk of cancer for adults and children in the study area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study was conducted to assess the potential ecological and human health risk of toxic metals in agricultural soils near the industrial areas of Bangladesh. In this study, six toxic metals (chromium, nickel, copper, arsenic, cadmium, and lead) were assessed in 58 soil samples of five different sampling sites around the industrial areas of Jhenaidah and Kushtia districts in Bangladesh. Toxic metals were measured using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometer. Potential ecological and human health risk were assessed through enrichment factor (EF), contamination factor (Cfi), geoaccumulation index (Igeo), pollution load index (PLI), toxic unit analysis, chronic daily intake through exposure pathway, hazard quotient, and hazard index. The mean concentrations of Cr, Ni, Cu, As, Cd, and Pb were found to be 5.78, 21.0, 31.8, 8.05, 1.20, and 19.2 mg/kg, respectively. Metals concentrations were found below the recommended value set by Dutch standard, Canadian guidelines, and Australian guidelines except Cd. Principal component analysis indicates that most of the metals in agricultural soils are coming from industrial sector. The mean values of EF, Igeo, Cfi, PLI, and toxic units were found safe level for all metals except Cd. In the view of potential ecological risk (PER), soils from all sampling sites indicated moderate to very high PER. Total target hazard quotients for all the studied metals in total sampling sites were <1 and cancer risk values were <10−6 indicating low noncarcinogenic and cancer risk for adult and children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]