Is the rice we eat arsenic-free?

During my recent visit to India I came across a news item in the front page of the Anandabazar Patrika under the heading “Bhater Patei Bisher Aarot, Bhorosha Muktasri.” It has been reported that certain popular high yielding rice varieties including IR-36, IR-64, Minikit cultivated in some parts of West Bengal have been contaminated with arsenic. According to WHO, 126 microgram of arsenic is the maximum daily tolerable limit for a man weighing 60 kg. But the amount of boiled rice consumed daily by an average person of the area contains more than 200 microgram of arsenic which is indeed alarming!
The good news is that the State Agricultural Research Station at Chuchura has succeeded in developing a rice variety named 'Muktasri' which is resistant to arsenic.
I think in our country arsenic content of not only rice but also other crops should be tested in laboratory to ascertain whether the arsenic level in those crops are within the tolerable limit.
Professor M Zahidul Haque
Department of Agricultural Extension
& Information System, SAU, Dhaka