Cadmium and lead content in rice grain at Kedah areas and potential health risk / Syazwan Ab Khalid

Introduction: This study was carried out to determine the cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) contents in Oryza sativa rice at paddy field at Kedah areas. The result for this study will be used to estimate the potential health risks to consumers. For respondents, there were divide into two group which are farmer group (n=30) and consumer group (n=45). They were selected based on inclusive criteria; understands the questionnaires given, Malaysian citizen and people who eat rice. Methodology: It is a cross sectional study design. The respondents, which are farmers were selected by purposive sampling from the study location where rice sample was collected. While consumer group were selected by simple random sampling as anyone has an equal chance of being included in the study. Oven was use to heat the sample after rinse With deionized water. For analysis of heavy metals, Atomic Absorption Spectrometer model Perkin Elmer was used to detect cadmium and lead content in rice grains. Questionnaire was used to determine the frequency of fertilizers applied by farmer and to assess frequency of daily rice intake among consumer group randomly. Result: One-Way ANOVA test for this study is significant (p< 0.001) to suggest that at least concentration of cadmium and lead for one pair among the sampling location were significantly different. The mean concentration of cadmium at Kampung Kubang Jawi is 0.0074 mg/L while mean concentration for rice grain at both Kampung Pida Empat and Kampung Teluk Jawa are 0.00 mg/L. Mean concentration of lead at Kampung Kubang Jawi is 0.04 mg/L while mean concentration for rice grain at both Kampung Pida Empat and Kampung Teluk Jawa are 0.02 mg/Land 0.001 mg/L. Conclusion: Low level of cadmium and lead in rice cannot guaranteed that rice we are taking is safe to eat. Government should create a policy or give an encouragement scheme to the farmer in order to promote them safely cultivate their rice paddy.