... unlikely to be affected with contamination (background site) were within the acceptable range for rice indicated by the Proposed Maximum Levels for Pb of FAO/WHO, EC and with reference values from ... that actual intake was within ‘safe’ limits However, in the contaminated site the HQI of Pb was 1.5-2 times higher than in the background site The highest HQI was associated with individuals of ... contaminated areas of the study site were elevated and roughly twice the concentrations associated with the background site The potential health risk to the local population through ingestion of...