Study: Arsenic Levels Found In Rice

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- First apple juice, now rice. Less than a week after a study linked lead and arsenic to apple juice, a new study says rice may be a health risk.

Researchers at Dartmouth Medical School looked at about 230 pregnant women and found those who had eaten rice recently had much higher levels of arsenic in their urine. And the more rice they ate, the higher the levels.

"We're not recommending that people stop eating rice, we just need to monitor the amount of arsenic that's in our rice," said Margaret Karagas with Dartmouth Medical School.

Arsenic occurs naturally in the environment -- in water, air, food and soil -- but high levels of exposure can be dangerous.

Arsenic has been associated with low birth weight, higher rates of infant death and an increased the cancer risk. But that's at higher levels than the study found.