Determination of Arsenic (As) Concentration in Different Varieties of Bangladeshi Rice Using Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA)

Abstract

Rice is the most well known cereal and staple food which serves as major carbohydrate for more than half of the world population. The goal of this study is to determine the selected toxic element (As) in rice samples. Bangladesh is a developing country and the industrial sector of the country is gradually expanding. At the same time it is a threat to the environment. For this experiment, eighteen samples of three common rice were selected namely BRRI-28, BRRI-29 &Miniket. All the samples were analyzed by using Neutron Activation Analysis (NAA) under the irradiation and counting facilities available at the Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology (INST), Atomic Energy Research Establishment (AERE), Savar, Dhaka in Bangladesh. NAA methods were validated by certified reference materials (IAEA-Soil-7, IAEA-SL-1 and Whey powder IAEA-155). The concentration of arsenic (As) was ranged from 0-0.2±0.003 mg kg^-1. The results expressed that the rice samples accumulate the element at different concentrations. Toxic element like As found in alarming level in some samples.

Keywords: Rice; NAA; Tangail; Toxic element