To evaluate the main intake source of
arsenic by the villagers from
arsenic-affected families in Jalangi and Domkol blocks in Mushidabad district, West Bengal-India, we determined the concentrations of
arsenic in tube-well water and in food composites, mainly including vegetables and cereals collected from the surveyed families which were cultivated in that region. The daily dietary intakes of
arsenic by the villagers were estimated and the excretions of
arsenic through urine and hair were determined. The
arsenic concentrations in hair and urine of the studied population living in mild (2.78 microg/L), moderate (30.7 microg/L) and high (118 microg/L)
arsenic-affected families were 133, 1,391 and 4,713 microg/kg and 43.1, 244 and 336 microg/L, respectively. The linear regressions show good correlations between
arsenic concentrations in water vs hair (r(2)=0.928, p<0.001) and water vs urine (r(2)=0.464, p<0.01). Approximately 29.4%, 58.1% and 62.1% of adult population from mild, moderate and high
arsenic-affected families were suffering from arsenical
skin manifestations. The mean
arsenic concentrations of food composites (vegetables and cereals) in high
arsenic-affected families are not significantly different from mild
arsenic-affected families. The daily dietary intakes of
arsenic from water and food composites of the studied population, living in high, moderate and mild
arsenic-affected families were 568, 228 and 137 microg, respectively. The linear regressions show good correlations between
arsenic concentrations in hair vs daily dietary intake (r(2)=0.452, p<0.001) and urine vs daily dietary intake (r(2)=0.134, p<0.001). The water for drinking contributed 6.07%, 26.7% and 58.1% of total
arsenic in our study from mild, moderate and high
arsenic-affected families. The result suggested that the contaminated water from high
arsenic-affected families should be the main source for intake of
arsenic. On contrary, the contribution of
arsenic-contaminated food composites from mild and moderate
arsenic-affected families might be the main source for intake of
arsenic. The Food and Agriculture Organization/World Health Organization (FAO/WHO) provisional tolerable weekly intake (PTWI) values of
arsenic in our study were 3.32, 5.75 and 12.9 microg/kg
body weight/day from mild, moderate and high
arsenic-affected families, respectively, which is higher than the recommended PTWI value of
arsenic (2.1 microg/kg
body weight/day).