Concentration and Risk Assessment of Arsenic, Cadmium and Lead in Husked and De-husked Rice Samples from Niger and Kebbi States, Nigeria

Toxic metals are implicated in many health implications especially in areas of indiscriminate mining activities. A total of 100 (50 husked and 50 de-husked) rice samples were randomly collected from Kebbi and Niger States, Nigeria. Arsenic, cadmium and lead were analyzed using Inductively Coupled Plasma–Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). Arsenic was highest (172.58 ± 5.75) µg kg-1 in husked rice from Koshaba while the de-husked rice samples from Gwadan gaji had highest concentration (114.29 ± 3.97) µg kg-1 of arsenic. Highest concentrations of cadmium was obtained in both the husked (43.29 ± 2.06) µg kg-1 and de-husked (66.13 ± 1.20) µg kg-1 rice samples from Tondi Yauri. Husked rice samples of Dukune had highest lead concentration (53.19 ± 3.09) µg kg-1 while the de-husked rice samples of Yauri had highest lead concentration (60.11 ± 2.18) µg kg-1. Percentage daily intake (%TDI) of arsenic was highest in most samples while contamination below detection limits was observed in few samples.