Lay Summary: 

High levels of geogenic arsenic (As) in groundwater affects ~140 million people across 50 countries, with Bangladesh and West Bengal (India) among the worst affected. Humans are exposed to As through drinking water, and/or food crops are grown in As-contaminated environments. In particular, rice accumulate s As more than other crops, and As enters the food chain directly through consumption of rice, or indirectly via animal products since rice straw and bran are widely used as ruminant feed. Although enhanced public awareness and alternative drinking water supply strategies have reduced the direct As exposure, the risks via rice remain substantial and unresolved. To evaluate As exposure to humans through rice, we need to address the knowledge-gaps comprehensively and holistically in complex socio-economic and cultural settings. In particular, it is imperative to gain insights into the biogeochemical processes to understand the underpinning mechanisms of As mobility across the genotypic and cultivar variability to reduce As bioaccumulation. Additionally, we can substantially reduce As risk in the food chain through improved post-harvest processing of rice and carefully tailored diet choices. To address the above, we have established a primary network of researchers from India, Bangladesh and the UK, which will be expanded to form a larger cross-cutting consortium through two workshops. The workshop invitees will identify research questions, which will feed into much larger international research opportunities. This networking activity will help us understand and develop best practices and implementation constraints in developing nations to combat the As-disaster.  This new partnership is formed between the UK, India and Bangladesh through a GCRF (Global Challenge Research Fund) network funded by the Academy of Medical Science, UK. 

Investigators 

• Dr Manoj Menon (PI-UK), University of Sheffield, UK (Publications)

• Prof Pinaki Sar (PI-India),  Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (Publications)

• Prof Bhabani Das, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (Publications)

• Dr Somnath Ghosal, Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (Publications)

• Prof Raifqul Islam, (Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh) (Publications)

• Prof. Mahmud Sumon, (Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh) (Publications)

• Prof Mohammad Hoque (Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh) (Publications)

The UK collaborators:

• Prof Andrew Meharg, Queen’s University Belfast, UK (Publications)

• Prof Ari Sadanandom, Durham University, UK (Publications)

• Prof Fred Mosselmans (Diamond Light Source), UK (Publications)

• Dr Sarasan Viswambharan, Royal Botanical Garden Kew, UK. (Publications)

• Dr Sarah Rogers (Diamond Light Source), UK (Publications) 

• Dr Masoud Babaei, University of Manchester, UK (Publications)

• Dr Christian Reynolds, University of Sheffield, UK (Publications)

• Dr Binoy Sarkar, University of Sheffield, UK (Publications)

• Prof Ed Rhodes, University of Sheffield, UK (Publications)

• Dr Maria Romero Gonzalez, University of Sheffield/Queen Mary University, UK (Publications) 

• Dr Sanjay Lanka, University of Sheffield, UK (Publications) 

• Dr Peter Grabowski, University of Sheffield, UK (Human nutrition) (Publications)

Our first workshop event (17-18 September 2018), University of Sheffield (see the program here).

Objectives:

1. Create awareness of the global As problem among the UK researchers (17th Sept)

2. Identify thrust areas for future research to mitigate the problem (18th Sept)

3. Networking and formation of working groups for future international funding opportunities (18th Sept)

4. Map out activities for the next months (18th Sept)

Workshop Program, Speakers and Acitivites

UK-India-Bangladesh GCRF workshop on Arsenic in the Food Chain (Day 1)

17 September 2018

Venue:  The Ennis Room, Halifax Hall Hotel 

  Endcliffe Vale Road, Sheffield S10 3ER

 Program

0830-0900 Arrival and Refreshments

 Session 1 Welcome, Introduction to Arsenic Problems in Bangladesh and India (Convenor: Dr Manoj Menon) 

0900     Welcome, Project introduction (Dr Menon)

0910     Arsenic problems in Bangladesh-An overview (Prof Islam)

0930     Socio Economic Dimensions of As problem in Bangladesh (Prof Hoque)

0950     Arsenic problems in India -An overview (Prof Sar)

1010     Educating The Rural India: An Approach Towards Arsenic Problem Mitigation (Dr Ghosal)

1030-1100 Coffee break 

Session 2 Managing As in the food chain (Convenor:  Prof Pinaki Sar)

 1100     Geochemical interventions (Dr Sarkar)

1120     Arsenic management solutions (Prof Sumon)

1140     Root branching and SUMO in plants (Prof Sadanandom)

1200     Endophytes and microbial solutions to tackle arsenic toxicity (Dr Sarasan V)

1220     Mapping arsenic distribution in rice  (Dr Menon)

 1245-1330 Lunch Break + Networking (45 min)

 Session 2 Continues (Convenor:  Dr Binoy Sarkar)

 1330     Dietary interventions and change (Dr Reynolds)

1350     Reducing water use through smart sensing (Prof Das)

1410     Modelling perspectives (Dr Babaei)

1430     International project perspectives: The UK-China Project (Prof Banwart)

 1500-1530 Coffee break (30 min)

 Session 3 Whole Group Discussion 

 1530     Mapping Monitoring Technology interventions. Led by Prof. Das/Prof. Sumon

1600     Plant-Micro-Biogeochemical interventions: Led by Prof. Sar/Prof. Islam 

1630     Socio-economic intervention. Led by Prof. Hoque/Dr Ghosal

1700 Close

FOR THOSE WHO REGISTERED FOR 18TH SEPTEMBER

(Day 2)

18 September 2018

Venue:  The Shed, Jonas Hotel (within the Halfiax Hotel Complex) 

  Endcliffe Vale Road, Sheffield S10 3ER

0845-0915 Arrival Refreshments

9000     Research funding talk (Dr Peter Caven)

0930     Map out project ideas, identify working groups and proposal planning

1200     India Workshop planning 

1300-1400 Lunch

1400     Campus Tour and Dinner for visitors

PHOTOS FROM THE WORKSHOP IN SHEFFIELD

India Workshop (1-3 July 2019)