Inorganic arsenic in starchy roots, tubers, and plantain and assessment of cancer risk of sub-Saharan African populations

Starchy roots, tubers, and plantain (RTP) are the staple food in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), and also important energy sources in Asia, Europe, and America. In this work, inorganic arsenic (iAs) in these crops was separated and enriched by solid phase extraction (SPE), and quantified by hydride generation-atomic fluorescence spectrometry (HG-AFS). Overall, iAs in these crops ranged from 0.9 to 14.1 ng g−1 wet weight. Long-term cancer risk associated with iAs intake from these crops was assessed by Monte Carlo simulation based on iAs concentrations and historical consumption and population data. For 19 high RTP consuming SSA countries, life-time cancer risk was low with a mean target risk at 6.3 × 10−5 and a margin of exposure at 72.