Risk assessment of inorganic arsenic intake in rice in Brazilian adult population

Risk of increasing incidence of 0.5% of lung cancer by ingestion of inorganic arsenic (iAs) by rice consumption in Brazil was evaluated. Intake was estimated for Brazilian adult population considering gender, housing area and demographic region. Contamination levels were estimated for brown and white rice from 294 samples analyzed in Brazil, since 2013. Consumption was obtained from individual nutritional survey. Scenarios of optimistic and pessimistic occurrence were also established. Average levels of contamination among different rice ranged from 0.093 to 0.167 mg.kg-1. There was no significant difference between white and brown rice. Although a gradual increase in contamination levels was observed in both after 2013, none sample was higher than regulatory limits. From linear regression of occurrence data (y=0.02088x-41.99, R2=0.9620), a highest contamination level (0.313 mg.kg-1) would be expected in 2026. Higher levels of intake were observed for males, urban areas and Midwest, when compared to others. Despite it, risk of increase 0.5% of the incidence of lung cancer was considered low in all consumption profiles and in both scenarios. However, rice is a staple food in Brazil, whose levels of contamination have showed an increasing. Therefore, is important a constant monitoring, as also included the impact of rice-derived foods.