WARNING: Rice with heavy metals

Thanks, LuckyDucky. One look at the OP and I'm going to bed with the guitar riff from 'Smoke on the Water' firmly stuck in my head.

Yes I have it was on "trust me i'm a doctor I think."

A month or so ago my geology group had a talk about how many soils etc in areas of the UK have toxins that get absorbed into our food stuffs. Many of these contain potential toxins, some are natural and others are caused by disturbance of the ground in mining.
One of the speakers had done some studies of the lead mining areas and suggested there was evidence that the constant even mild exposure has shown effects of increased aggressive behaviour of young people in Derbyshire compared with similar populations in the neighbouring area of Leicestershire which
has had coal and rock quarrying but not these great deposits of lead.

I frequently drive through Dove Holes on the A6. That whole area is covered in debris from lead mining. The spoil tips are all around the village no one seems prepared to fund making them safe. A lot of this spoil heap dust probably just blows around the area.
I appears that quite a lot of very toxic arsenic and cadmium are present naturally in certain chalk and limestone areas aound the "Jurrasic coasts" Dorset way.

This picture is of Parys mountain on Anglesea.This is a large former copper mine. It is so polluted nothing can grow. The site was first mined for copper 4000 years ago in the bronze age.
When we visited were advised to wash our hands before we ate our packed lunch.

Nelliemoser Many years ago a friend who is an industrial archaeologist told me where to find enough arsenic to poison the whole of London. There are times it seemed like a good idea…

This information has been in the news for years lucky ducky I m sure most of the food we eat is full of contaminations

My advice is don't breathe or eat - then you'll be fine.

As there is little likelihood of anyone funding clean ups of this land the residents in these areas have to live with it.

As much as I love the Peak Distict I would choose where to live very carefully.
It was allegedly the arsenic in the dyes of Napoleon's green wallpaper which slowly sent out fumes and finished him off.
The moral is don't have green wallpaper and live on St Helena.

I seem to remember something on one of the food programmes last week about this - I'll look it up.

Yes, it was on last week - the best way to reduce the amount of arsenic in your rice is apparently to soak it in water overnight before cooking.

Regular, very small doses of arsenic give you clear skin and wonderful lustrous hair. The Victorians saw it as beneficial and the Elizabethans used arsenic paste to whiten their skin. Just thought that might help ?

Yes I read that too, Ana. That presupposes that you are organised enough to know that you will be having rice the next day - more often than not, I am not that organised. It's more a case of "shall we have rice with this for a change?" What doesn't kill you makes you stronger - or it makes your hair and teeth fall out, or you grow another nose, or.....
It is more what the authorities choose to cover up that bothers me rather than what they are keen to let us know about.

We're all doomed ????

Greyduster - you're right, I never thought of that!

Has anyone got lead pipes?

I eat a lot of rice, gulp

Jalims we gave lead pipes from the road to our house. I just had Severn Trent test the water and we should be OK providing we let the tap run fior a few minutes every morning.

Have not gave...and for not fior...?

We had lead pipes in our 1930s semi until we had the kitchen replaced, but the pipes from the road to the house were still lead. We had the same advice as you, Anya. Does anyone know how long this rice/arsenic thing has been a problem? Is it historic or fairly recent? In my youthity, I once went potholing in some old lead workings (we were told they dated back to the Roman occupation).

If you live in an area with granite rock you could be exposed to radon.

We are all doomed.

merlot I had a vision of Deep Purple riffing away when I saw that heading too! Great minds.

Where I lived in Cornwall we had Radon and Arsenic

Life is a terminal illness.

Life is not an illness.

Well, it is certainly a time-limited condition.

Well, it is certainly a terminal condition.