Determination of malathion, chlorpyrifos, λ-cyhalothrin and arsenic in rice

Abstract Presented study focused on the incidence of pesticides: malathion, chlorpyrifos and λ-cyhalothrin and heavy metal, arsenic in the rice samples collected from the three main rice growing areas. 30 samples of brown Super Kernel Basmati rice and Super Basmati rice varieties, irrigated through tube well irrigation were selected. Highly sensitive and selective method of High Performance Liquid Chromatography was used for determination of pesticides. Results of analysis showed the presence of malathion in one sample in concentration of 18.26 mg/kg, chlorpyrifos in two samples in concentration of 3.3 mg/kg and 1.45 mg/kg respectively and λ-cyhalothrin in one sample in concentration of 1.848 mg/kg. Amount of pesticides detected in these samples were exceeding their maximum residual limits thus showed their strong potential to pose significant health risk. The presence of arsenic in rice was determined by Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer and it was detected in 12 samples out of 30 in range of 0.04-0.28ppm. The detected arsenic concentration of arsenic in all samples was within the permissible limits set by WHO/FAO.