Major rice producers suffer from severe heavy metal pollution - study
Kyiv • UNN
Research has revealed high cadmium pollution in key rice regions of South and Southeast Asia. This poses a threat to global food security, affecting billions of people.

Some of the leading rice-producing countries are located in a large belt of heavy metal contamination, according to a new study that has raised concerns about global food security, reports the South China Morning Post, writes UNN.
Details
The Chinese group behind the study used machine learning to analyze hundreds of studies based on soil samples taken around the world and concluded that the most fertile rice regions of South and Southeast Asia suffer from severe cadmium contamination.
Up to 1.4 billion people worldwide suffer from toxic heavy metal contamination, and 17 percent of arable land is contaminated, according to a study conducted by Hou Deyao, a professor at the School of Environment, Tsinghua University.
The results, published in the journal Science this week, indicate that regions crucial for global food security are also hotspots for contamination linked to kidney damage, bone diseases, and respiratory illnesses.
Cadmium is a carcinogen and is most prevalent in the world's major rice-producing regions, including India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, China, and Thailand.
Vietnam is also a major rice exporter, but its level of heavy metal contamination is relatively low, according to the study.
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