Human Health Risks from Consuming Vegetables Grown in Anomalously High-Arsenic Soils

The Andes Mountains stand out as one of the regions characterized by an unusual environmental abundance of arsenic. We hypothesized that the consumption of vegetables grown in the soils of the Arica and Parinacota Region (northernmost part of Chile) represents a potential human health hazard. We also postulated that the accidental ingestion of soils in the area contributes to human exposure to arsenic. We quantified arsenic concentrations in 191 vegetable tissues and 62 soil samples collected from five river basins within the region. We utilized food consumption data obtained from the Chilean Ministry of Health and the probable rate of incidental soil ingestion data from the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The non carcinogenic risk assessment revealed that the age group of ≤ 5 years old is particularly vulnerable to arsenic exposure in the high-arsenic area, either through the vegetable consumption pathway or the incidental soil ingestion pathway. Moreover, the estimated cancer risk value from vegetable consumption of 1.2 · 10^–3 for the ≤ 5 years old age group in the high-arsenic area is deemed unacceptable. Our study highlights the potential health hazards of consuming common dietary staples such as carrots, Swiss chard, tomatoes, corn, onions, and lettuce, which contain high levels of arsenic. Our findings underscore that the consumption of vegetables represents a more significant pathway for inorganic arsenic exposure compared to incidental soil ingestion. Investigating agronomic approaches to minimize crop uptake of arsenic will be crucial in providing practical solutions to reduce exposure to arsenic in the Arica and Parinacota Region.