abstract
Even moderate arsenic exposure may lead to health problems, and thus quantifying inorganic arsenic (iAs)
exposure from food for different population groups in China is essential. By analyzing the data from the China
National Nutrition and Health Survey (CNNHS) and collecting reported values of iAs in major food groups, we
developed a framework of calculating average iAs daily intake for different regions of China. Based on this
framework, cancer risks from iAs in food was deterministically and probabilistically quantified. The article
presents estimates for health risk due to the ingestion of food products contaminated with arsenic. Both
per individual and for total population estimates were obtained. For the total population, daily iAs intake
is around 42 μg day−1, and rice is the largest contributor of total iAs intake accounting for about 60%.
Incremental lifetime cancer risk from food iAs intake is 106 per 100,000 for adult individuals and the median
population cancer risk is 177 per 100,000 varying between regions. Population in the Southern region has a
higher cancer risk than that in the Northern region and the total population. Sensitive analysis indicated that
cancer slope factor, ingestion rates of rice, aquatic products and iAs concentration in rice were the most
relevant variables in the model, as indicated by their higher contribution to variance of the incremental
lifetime cancer risk. We conclude that rice may be the largest contributor of iAs through food route for
the Chinese people. The population from the South has greater cancer risk than that from the North and the
whole population.