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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Environmental Health and Exposome
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1499653
This article is part of the Research Topic Human Health Affected by Changing Ecological Environment in the Rapid Urbanization View all 7 articles
From farm to table: Assessing the status and health risk assessment of heavy metal pollution in rice in Henan province
Provisionally accepted
Xin Zeng 1*
Yumeng Yan 1
Zhenxing Mao 1,2
Xinlu Wang 2
Zhiwei Chen 1 Cuicui Ma 1
Dandan Wei 1 Wenjing Yan 1
Xueyan Wu 1 Yao Guo 1 Haoran Xu 1 Guozhen Han 1 Erbao Han 1 Huilin Lou 1 Taimeng Chen 1
Wenqian Huo 1
Chongjian Wang 1
Shan Huang 3- 1 College of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China
- 2 Co-construction Collaborative Innovation Center for Chinese Medicine and Respiratory Diseases, Henan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China
- 3 Henan Provincial Institute of Food and Drug Control, Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China
In recent years, industrial and agricultural advancements in Henan Province have increased heavy metal contamination in rice, raising public concerns. This study investigated the contamination levels of five heavy metals, cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), lead (Pb), mercury (Hg), and inorganic arsenic (As),in rice from Henan Province and evaluated potential health risks. A total of 6,632 rice samples were collected from 18 regions between 2020 and 2022. The samples were analyzed for Cd, Cr, Pb, Hg, and As using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Detection rates were compared using the chi-square test, and health risks were assessed for the three populations (adults, children and toddlers) according to USEPA guidelines. The results of the study showed that As had the highest detection rate of 99.59%, followed by Cd (27.69%), Cr (22.57%), Pb(2.25%) and Hg (1.95%). Cd levels were significantly higher in urban areas (30.42%) than rural areas (23.13%) (P < 0.001). The detection rate of Cd was higher in the southern region compared to other regions, while the detection rate of Cr in the eastern region was the highest among all regions. The health risk assessment showed that the Hazard Quotient (HQ) for inorganic As exceeded 1. However, children and toddlers were at relatively higher risk of exposure to As compared to adults. This study provide an important reference for rice quality and safety supervision and agricultural environmental protection in Henan Province, and suggest that the relevant departments should strengthen food safety monitoring and control to ensure public health.
Keywords: heavy metal, Rice safety, health risk assessment, Environmental Pollution, Agricultural impact
Received: 21 Sep 2024; Accepted: 02 Apr 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Zeng, Yan, Mao, Wang, Chen, Ma, Wei, Yan, Wu, Guo, Xu, Han, Han, Lou, Chen, Huo, Wang and Huang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Xin Zeng, College of Public Health, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450001, Henan Province, China
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