Scientists worried about arsenic in water

LONDON -- Scientists say millions of people in developing countries are being poisoned by arsenic in drinking water.

Peter Ravenscroft of Cambridge University said the arsenic could lead to higher rates of cancer, the BBC said Thursday.

He estimated about 140 million people, especially those living in South and East Asia, are ingesting arsenic through drinking water and from locally grown rice.

The metal, which is naturally present in soil, leaches into groundwater, the BBC said. Rice plants absorb arsenic from the soil as they grow.

About 50 million people are affected in Bangladesh, Ravenscroft said at a meeting of the Royal Geographical Society in London.

Andrew Meharg from Aberdeen University said arsenic transfers from soil to rice about 10 times more efficiently than to other grain crops.

Copyright 2007 by United Press International.