China Info

Research for Diploma Thesis in
Geo-Ecology: Arsenic Contamination of Rice
Whenever I told people that my diploma
thesis was about arsenic contamination
of rice in China, they were very
surprised by the fact that high arsenic
levels can be found in Chinese rice.
Arsenic in rice is a problem that poses a
severe risk to human health, not only in
China but also in other countries such
as Bangladesh, Vietnam, or even the US.
The use of contaminated groundwater
for drinking and cooking is the
main origin of arsenic poisoning. An
additional source is the consumption of
crops that were irrigated with
wastewater. In China, another route for
arsenic poisoning via domestic coal
combustion is known. Usually people
are not aware of the high arsenic
concentrations in coal. They burn the
coal for heating and drying of food and
are thus exposed to arsenic. The oral
intake of arsenic contaminated water or
soil causes various health problems
including hyperpigmentation,
numbness, cardiovascular diseases and
different types of cancer. Relating to the
above-described arsenic problems, I
wanted to focus in my diploma thesis
on factors controlling arsenic
mobilisation and transport with special
attention on arsenic uptake by rice
plants.
My supervisor, Dr. Andreas
Kappler from the Geomicrobiology
Group at the Center for Applied
Geosciences of the University of
Tübingen in Germany, took the initiative
and contacted an expert in this field,
Prof. Zhu from the research Centre for
Eco-environmental Sciences at the
Farmer from Chenzhou, Hunan province, using wastewater for irrigation of crops. Water is often contaminated
by various elements like As, Cd and Zn due to high mining activity in this area.
Photo: Sarah Richter
Chinese Academy of Sciences in
Beijing. He was immediately interested
to collaborate with us. In the following,
a plan was worked out to exchange
scientific expertise from both sides: a
student from Prof. Zhu’s laboratory,
Xueping Chen, stayed for two months
in Tübingen. In return, I had the great
opportunity to live in Beijing for six
weeks, working in a Chinese laboratory
and gaining an insight into Chinese
culture. Of course, Chinese life is very
different and so is work in a Chinese
laboratory. First of all, there is the
problem of communication, especially
when one’s Chinese language skills are
very close to zero. Sometimes this
would cost me (and of course my
Chinese partners as well) a lot of
patience. Often, however, these
situations ended with laughter when I
tried one more time to make myself
understood with hands and feet.
Regarding communication in English, I
made the experience that many
colleagues in the Chinese laboratories
had good written English skills, but their
spoken English was poor. Mostly, they
hadn’t had a lot of chances to practice,
or unfortunately, were too shy to talk to
me. Another thing was the laboratory
equipment. Generally, the laboratory
was well equipped, but sure, one will
not find all instruments one is used from
one’s home-lab. Sometimes this was
very annoying but, on the other hand, it
stimulated my creativity in finding
alternatives. Therefore, it may have even
improved my understanding of the
processes. Recapitulating the facts,
people were very friendly and helped me
to get along well in a country that bears
a lot of challenges for a European. It was
definitively an experience I will never
forget. (Sarah Richter)
DAAD China Info 1/2007 17