Human health risk assessment for some toxic metals in widely consumed rice brands (domestic and imported) in Tehran, Iran: Uncertainty and sensitivity analysis

The aim of this study was to evaluate the contamination of widely consumed rice brands in Tehran, Iran with three heavy metals: arsenic, lead, and cadmium. To this end, 250 rice samples were collected and 90 samples out of them were analyzed using ICP-MS. Finally, human health risk assessment were performed. Our results showed that the average of lead, cadmium, and arsenic concentrations in Indian rice type was significantly higher than Iranian and Pakistani types (P < 0.05). Among the three metals, the highest impact on the total value of non-carcinogenic risk was related to As. In addition, the non-carcinogenic risk value only for the Indian rice type, was above the permitted level (1.0). Also, we found that the carcinogenic risk of arsenic in all three rice types was higher than the acceptable limit (10(-4)). According to findings, special attention should be paid to reducing arsenic especially in Indian rice through interventions.