If you want to be 100% certain, you need a certified lab. It’s not as scary as it sounds. You collect your sample (water, soil, or even cooked rice) in a clean container, fill out a form, and mail it off. Two weeks later, you get a report that looks like a college exam – but the only grade you care about is below 10 parts per billion (ppb) for water (the EPA limit). For rice, under 100 ppb is decent.
Cost? About $30 to $50 for a water test. Worth every penny if it stops you from accidentally pulling a “sweet little old lady” routine on yourself. Plus, you can brag to your friends, “Yeah, I’m testing for arsenic. It’s a whole vibe.”
Pro tip for rice lovers
Rice is notorious for soaking up arsenic from soil. Don’t toss your sushi dreams. Just rinse dry rice thoroughly before cooking, and cook it in extra water (like pasta, then drain). This removes about 50% of the arsenic. Testing your cooked rice? You’d need to ask the lab for a solid sample analysis – yes, you literally mail in your leftover dinner. I did this once; the lab guy was very amused.
Confirmatory Test For Arsenic at Lynn Sparks blog
