ABSTRACT
Raw rice samples (n = 157) were collected from households of three neighbouring villages of the As affected Tehatta II block in Nadia district, West Bengal in 2009-2010. The collected rice samples were classified into three catagories [Short Bold (SB), Medium Slender (MS) and Long Slender (LS)] according to grain size and shape by taking their average Length (L) and L to Breadth (B) ratio. Arsenic was measured in digested (HNO3
1 INTRODUCTION
Deterioration of drinking water quality due to presence of Arsenic (As) is now a global problem including the USA. and Europe. However the problem is most severe in south and southeast Asia (Bhattacharya et al. 2011). Since the first report of As in groundwaters during 1980, considerable research have focussed on the occurrences and mobility of As in groundwater used for drinking purposes. People in rural Bengal use massive amount of groundwater for irrigation purposes. During rice cultivation the land becomes flooded by the water as a result the flooded soil becomes reduced with time which increases the plant bioavailability of As. Therefore accumulation of As in rice grain is maximum among the food grains (Meharg & Rahaman 2003).
