The Assessment of Rice and Paddy Fields in Mizoram, India, Suggests a Need for Better Health Risk Management.

The presence of heavy metals (HM) and trace elements (TE) in soil and rice can be either beneficial or harmful. Hence, assessment of the HM and TE present in them is of prime importance for proper health risk management. As a first-hand report, an assessment of the TE and HM in paddy fields and rice grains was undertaken to evaluate health-related issues after consuming local rice grains from Champhai, North Vanlaiphai, and Kolasib of Mizoram, India. The concentrations of TE and HM in paddy fields could be ranked in the order Fe > Zn > Mn > Cu > Ni > As, and no trace amounts of Cd and Pb were found. In soils and rice, all the elements were determined to be below permitted limits. A significant difference (p < 0.05) was found when the concentration of HM and TE in the soil and rice were compared. The Health Risk Index (HRI) value of rice consumers for all the study sites was less than 1 in all cases except for Ni from Champhai rice (1.6) suggesting cultivars from Champhai might pose some negative impacts on health and sought for better management system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]