No Arsenic in home food samples of A’pura kidney patients

Laboratory tests conducted on food samples obtained from the homes of kidney patients in the Anuradhapura district has revealed that there is no Arsenic in them but contain dangerously high level of Lead, Dr. T. B. Ananda Jayalal Pediatric Nutrition, Environmental Technologist and WTO, SPS Trace Expert, Dr. T.B. Ananda Jayalal said.

Addressing a press conference at the Government Information Department Auditorium in Colombo yesterday, he said the study found Lead in 60 percent of blood samples tested for heavy metal.

The blood samples belong to both males and females of all ages. Of the 55 blood samples tested, 26 of them (47 percent) had Lead.

The Lead goes into the body through food and not through water. According to Dr. Jayalal, the amount of Lead going into the body through food can be controlled by using minimum fertilizer, not using pesticides and insecticides, not eating the same food all the time, eating different types of food and eating more fish and meat (but not the liver), etc.

“A vegetarian diet cannot be recommended.

The food we consume more such as rice (paddy) can be cultivated in non affected (polluted with heavy metal) lands while the food we eat less such as chilies can be cultivated in affected lands,”he said.

When the children consume Lead beyond tolerable levels, their growth gets affected and their IQ level becomes low.

Their hearing also gets affected.

When the adults get ingested with Lead, they get high blood pressure, low hemoglobin levels, consciousness issues etc. Sri Lanka stands in the 79th place in the world when it comes to the IQ level in the population, he added.

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