Arsenic-Polluted Groundwater in Cambodia: Advances in Research

Although arsenic pollution of groundwater in Cambodia has been intensively investigated since the mid-2000s, the impacts on soil and rice as well as human health have not been sufficiently clarified. This review article showed transitions in drinking water supply, arsenic pollution of groundwater and health risks to residents, impact of arsenic on paddy soil and rice, and technologies for removal of arsenic from tube well water in Cambodia. Some rice samples from Cambodia had an arsenic content higher than 0.2 mg kg-1 (the maximum acceptable level of arsenic content of rice grain adopted by Codex), and some samples ranged up to 3 times above the maximum acceptable level. In such cases, arsenic exposure risk might increase if people live as self-sufficient farmers, therefore, arsenic-affected areas are deserving of more attention. It is also important that regulations insure that arsenic-contaminated rice not appear in markets. An alternative adsorbent, amorphous iron (hydr) oxide loaded activated carbon is recommended as a desirable arsenic-removal technology.