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Determination of Arsenic Content in Different Brands of Rice Sold in Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Arsenic, a naturally occurring element seen in the environment and cycled by water has been seen to be a pollutant in soil, water and air. The inorganic form of arsenic is associated with major health problems and cancer mainly arising due to its anthropogenic activities. The content of arsenic was assayed in six rice brands sold in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria. The rice samples were ground to powdered forms and subjected to acid digestion before analysis. The Agilent Micro Plasma Atomic Emission Spectrophotometer (MP-AES) was used to analyze the digested samples. Results showed mean arsenic concentration in Vico Rice, the highest as 1.0073. This was followed by Local Rice 0.9420, Marori Benz 0.9140, Golden Stallion Rice 0.861 and the Cap Rice 0.8077 while the least mean concentration of arsenic was recorded in African Princess Rice 0.6417, all in mg/kg. The mean concentration was significantly different in the six brands of rice (P<0.05). The arsenic content in the different rice brand was within the tolerable concentration of 1.4 mg/kg as in cereals and vegetables. This concentration did not exceed the Maximum Permissible Limit of 1 mg/kg hence considered safe for consumption except Vico rice with a higher concentration above 1 mg/kg. This shows that rice brands sold in Port Harcourt pose no health risk for consumers with respect to arsenic content.