Potential for arsenic contamination of rice in Bangladesh: spatial analysis and mapping of high risk areas Zev Ross* , John M. Duxbury and Stephen D. DeGloria Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, Cornell University, 904 Bradfield Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA E-mail: zev.ross@cornell.edu E-mail: jmd17@cornell.edu E-mail: sdd4@cornell.edu *Corresponding author Debi Narayan Rudra Paul Bangladesh Rice Research Institute, Gazipur 1701, Bangladesh E-mail: brrihq@bdonline.com Abstract: Knowledge of the location and severity of arsenic contamination in Bangladesh is required to develop land and resource management strategies to reduce human exposure to arsenic and arsenic contamination of food and water supplies. Potential high risk areas for arsenic contamination of rice were identified using spatial analysis and modelling. Existing country-wide data on groundwater arsenic contamination, winter (boro) rice production and irrigation methods were used to identify areas where high production of groundwater irrigated boro rice corresponds to areas with high arsenic contamination of groundwater. Results show that 76% of irrigated boro rice is grown in upazila where mean groundwater arsenic concentrations are below 50 ȖgL ǁ1 , the Bangladesh health standard. Seven percent, however, is grown in areas with mean concentrations greater than 100 ȖgL ǁ1 , primarily in south-central and western-central Bangladesh. Mitigation strategies are suggested for the areas considered to be at risk for arsenic contamination of boro rice. Keywords: arsenic; Bangladesh; boro; geostatistics; groundwater; irrigation; kriging; rice; risk assessment; risk mapping. Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Ross, Z., Duxbury, J.M., DeGloria, S.D. and Paul, D.N.R. (2006) ‘Potential for arsenic contamination of rice in Bangladesh: spatial analysis and mapping of high risk areas’, Int. J. Risk Assessment and Management, Vol. 6, Nos. 4/5/6, pp.298–315. Biographical notes: Zev Ross, a researcher at Cornell and President of ZevRoss Spatial Analysis (www.zevross.com), has ten years’ experience conducting research on the health implications of environmental contamination. His work focuses on spatial and environmental statistical methods. John M. Duxbury is professor of soil chemistry. He has research interests on links between agriculture, the environment and human health; management of resources and cropping systems in South Asia; and greenhouse gas fluxes in agriculture. 298 Int. J. Risk Assessment and Management, Vol. 6, Nos. 4/5/6, 2006 Copyright © 2006 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd. 4_Ross 15/3/06 10:26 pm Page 298