Please have a read through this news digest of recent online publications on arsenic.

There is no safe limit; trace amounts of arsenic can also do damage

It was formerly thought that only high dose exposure resulted in illness, but new research begs to differ. Trace amounts of arsenic in the body interfere with the tumor suppressing hormone glucocorticoid, while damaging lung cells and causing inflammation in the heart. Researchers at the University of Chicago found residents of Bangladesh who took in as little as 19 parts per billion (ppb) had reduced lung function and at 120 ppb, their ability to take in oxygen was reduced.

More arsenic in brown rice than in refined rice

In tests for arsenic in more than 1,300 samples of rice and rice products, the Food and Drug Administration has found the highest average levels in brown rice. Arsenic accumulates in the hull, the outer portion of the rice, “so the more highly you refine and polish rice, the more arsenic is reduced,” said an FDA senior science adviser.

Modest levels of arsenic in drinking water associated with increased risk of diabetes

Chronic exposure to high levels of arsenic in drinking water is associated with increased risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), but the association between lower levels of arsenic and T2DM is more controversial. Findings in a new study suggest that exposure to modest levels of arsenic in drinking water was associated with increased risk of T2DM in Bangladesh.

Plant species Pteris Cretica could absorb arsenic

Phytoremediation, using plants to rapidly extract toxins from the environment, has existed for decades, but few plants have been adapted for small scale drinking water filters. When arsenic-tainted water is poured in a bin with planted Pteris Cretica, the plants immediately start absorbing the toxin through their roots, cleaning a half-gallon of contaminated water every minute.