Thongkham’s polished white rice has less arsenic, but there is still cause for concern.
“Even if the daily intake is within the limit, it still builds up. At first, the body says, ‘I can handle it and flush it out.’ After a week, ‘still manageable’. After a month, it starts to struggle,” said Somporn.
“After six months, ‘I can’t handle this any more’. The kidneys can no longer clear it. That’s when we start detecting it in the body. Arsenic poisoning can eventually cause cancer in many organs, especially the skin and bladder.”
Arsenic has already been found in Thongkham’s urine, with tests done months apart showing that the level has increased to double the acceptable exposure limit.
“I don’t really know what we can do,” he said. “It’s hard to avoid. We eat rice every day.”
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