Levels of total arsenic in edible fish and shellfish obtained from two coastal sectors of the Atacama Desert in the north of Chile: Use of non-migratory marine species as bioindicators of sea environmental pollution

Abstract

The Camarones (CB) and Vitor (VB) Bays are situated in the middle of Atacama Desert, and their economies are based on activities entirely associated with the extraction of marine produce. The aim of this study was to determine the total arsenic content in three species of fish and seven species of shellfish from these two bays. The quantification of the total arsenic content in these products was performed by Hydride-Generation Atomic Absorption Spectrometry, HG-AAS. The results showed that marine species associated with the CB sector had higher total arsenic levels than the same species in the area of VB, a finding attributed to much higher total arsenic concentrations in the water and soils of CB than VB. The species with the highest total arsenic concentration was the Venus antique (7.50 mg kg ⁻¹) from the CB, and the lowest total arsenic content was found in Cheilodactylidae variegatus (0.34 mg kg⁻¹) from VB.

Keywords:

• Total arsenic
• seafood
• HG-AAS
• Camarones Bay
• Vitor Bay

Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank the FONDECYT Proyect N°1070575, the Centro de Investigaciones del Hombre en el Desierto (CIHDE/CODECITE), and the Convenio de Desempeño Universidad de Tarapacá (UTA-MINEDUC, 2008-2010).