Arsenic concentrations above 10 μg L⁻¹ were previously found in 89% of ground water sources in six villages of Pakistan. The present study has ascertained the health risks associated with exposure to total arsenic (tAs) and its species in most frequently consumed foods. Inorganic arsenic (iAs) concentrations were found to be 92.5 ± 41.88 μg kg⁻¹, 79.21 ± 76.42 μg kg⁻¹, and 116.38 ± 51.38 μg kg⁻¹ for raw rice, cooked rice and wheat respectively. The mean tAs concentrations were 47.47 ± 30.72 μg kg⁻¹, 71.65 ± 74.7 μg kg⁻¹, 105 ± 61.47 μg kg⁻¹. Wheat is therefore demonstrated to be a significant source of arsenic exposure. Dimethylarsinic acid was the main organic species detected in rice, whilst monomethylarsonic acid was only found at trace levels. Total daily intake of iAs exceeded the provisional tolerable daily intake of 2.1 μg kg⁻¹ day⁻¹ body weight in 74% of study participants due to concurrent intake from water (94%), wheat (5%) and raw rice (1%). A significant association between tAs in cooked rice and cooking water resulted in tAs intake 43% higher in cooked rice compared to raw rice. The study suggests that arsenic intake from food, particularly from wheat consumption, holds particular significance where iAs is relatively low in water. Chronic health risks were found to be significantly higher from wheat intake than rice, whilst the risk in terms of acute effects was below the USEPA's limit of 1.0. Children were at significantly higher health risk than adults due to iAs exposure from rice and/or wheat. The dietary exposure of participants to tAs was attributable to staple food intake with ground water iAs <10 μg L⁻¹, however the preliminary advisory level (200 μg kg⁻¹) was achievable with rice consumption of ≤200 g day⁻¹ and compliance with ≤10 μg L⁻¹ iAs in drinking water. Although the daily iAs intake from food was lower than total water intake, the potential health risk from exposure to arsenic and its species still exists and requires exposure control measures.

先前在巴基斯坦六个村庄的89％的地下水源中发现了高于10μgL ^-1的砷浓度。本研究已经确定了与最经常食用的食物中总砷（tAs）及其种类的暴露相关的健康风险。无机砷（IAS）的浓度被发现是92.5±41.88微克千克^-1，79.21±76.42微克千克^-1，和116.38±51.38微克千克^-1分别用于生米，米饭和小麦。平均TAS浓度分别为47.47±30.72微克千克^-1，71.65±74.7微克千克^-1，105±61.47微克千克^-1。因此，小麦被证明是砷暴露的重要来源。大米中检测到的主要有机物为二甲基ar酸，而单甲基ar酸仅在痕量水平上被发现。iAs的每日总摄入量超过了2.1μgkg ^{-1 -1} 天^-1的暂定每日耐受摄入量由于同时摄入水（94％），小麦（5％）和生米（1％）而导致74％的研究参与者体重下降。煮熟的米饭中的tAs与烹饪水之间存在显着关联，导致煮过的米饭中的tAs摄入量比生米饭高43％。研究表明，在iAs含量相对较低的情况下，食物中的砷摄入量尤其是小麦摄入量具有特别重要的意义。发现小麦摄入的慢性健康风险显着高于大米，而就急性影响而言，该风险低于美国环境保护局的1.0限值。由于iAs暴露于水稻和/或小麦中，儿童的健康风险明显高于成人。参与者饮食中tAs的摄入量归因于主食进食的地下水iAs <10μgL ^-1然而初步咨询水平（200微克千克^-1）与≤200克天的稻消耗达到^-1和遵守≤10微克大号^-1在饮用水中iAs。尽管每天从食物中摄入的iAs低于总饮水量，但仍然存在因接触砷及其物种而引起的潜在健康风险，因此需要采取接触控制措施。