ABSTRACT
In this paper, we study the contents of five heavy metal elements found in rice from five basins situated in Heilongjiang Province, and we analyze the distribution of these heavy metal elements in rice for different basins under consideration. Microwave digestion-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) analysis was used to determine the contents of five heavy metals in rice, including total chromium (Cr), cadmium (Cd), total arsenic (As), lead (Pb), and total mercury (Hg). The single factor pollution index and comprehensive pollution index were employed as an evaluation approach to assess the heavy metal pollution index of rice. For different basins, there were diverse characteristics of heavy metal elements found in rice. The over standard rate of heavy metal elements was low, but the detection rate was high. It was noticed that the rice from Wusuli River Basin was heavily polluted, while that from the Songhuajiang River Basin was slightly polluted. It was suggested that pollution was localized. The heavy metal content of rice in Heilongjiang Province is generally at a low level of food safety risk. However, it is still necessary to further control the sources of heavy metal pollution in the environment and monitor and assess the risk of heavy metal levels in rice.
