Overview
This 2024 study from 11 arsenic-affected districts in Bihar, India, reports that 55% of lactating mothers had breast milk arsenic exceeding the WHO permissible limit, with values ranging up to 458 µg/L. The study provides a comprehensive picture of arsenic exposure through multiple matrices in a high-exposure Indian population.
Key numbers
Breast milk arsenic (n=378): Up to 458 µg/L; 55% exceeded WHO permissible limit for total As in breast milk. Samples from arsenic-exposed groundwater districts, Bihar.
Child urine arsenic (n=184): Mean 107.92 µg/g-Cr; 67% exceeded permissible limit (>50 µg/g-Cr).
Food arsenic in arsenic-affected Bihar (µg/kg):
| Commodity | Max reported |
|---|---|
| Rice | Up to 821 |
| Wheat | Up to 775 |
| Potato | Up to 1,450 |
These are maximum values from affected areas and represent the upper tail of the distribution; they do not represent average market concentrations.
Methods
Not detailed in Marker-converted excerpt but likely ICP-MS or HFAAS. n=513 women, 378 breast milk samples, 184 infant urine samples. Cross-sectional study.
Note: Breast milk values in severely As-contaminated regions like Bihar Gangetic plains reflect extreme groundwater exposure and are not representative of typical exposure in lower-contamination settings. The potato value of up to 1,450 µg/kg As warrants verification; potato typically accumulates much less As than rice.
Implications
Health: Documents serious arsenic exposure in breastfed Gangetic plains infants; the lactational exposure pathway is significant when maternal groundwater As is very high.
App: Geographic origin of water supply is a critical modifier for any As exposure estimate; Bihar groundwater As is among the highest documented globally.
Wiki pages updated on ingest
Update history
The five most recent substantive edits to this page, classified major (evidence or structure moved), correction (a published value or statement was wrong and has been fixed), or minor (narrative rewritten without changing the underlying evidence). Each description is derived from what the edit did to this page; the linked commit is the authoritative record, routine regeneration passes are excluded, and the full version history lives in git. When DOI minting comes online (see schema docs), each entry below will also link to a version-pinned DataCite DOI.
| Commit | Date | Change | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| a8052bb | 2026-08-09 | major | 6 sections added; narrative text revised |