Determination of mercury and arsenic levels in fish caught in the Beheshtabad River, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Province, Iran

Abstract

Mercury and arsenic pollution has been recognized as a potential environmental and public health problem for over 40 years. The major source of exposure to mercury for humans is the ingestion of fish. This study was conducted with the aim of determining the levels of mercury and arsenic in the muscles of four fish species caught in the Beheshtabad River and comparing the results with the maximum tolerance levels for mercury and arsenic. The samples of 90 fish were used for the determination of both the metals by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. The results showed that the concentrations ranged from 1.5 to 3.8 µg kg⁻¹ for mercury and from 35 to 70 µg kg⁻¹ for arsenic, with means of 2.7 ± 0.5 and 57 ± 12 µg kg⁻¹, respectively. Both mean levels were lower than the threshold limits acceptable by WHO standards.

Keywords:

• fish
• mercury
• arsenic
• atomic absorption spectrometry

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to gratefully acknowledge M. Ahmadi, technician of Kimia Pajooh Alborz Laboratory for the sincere help in performing technical parts of the project.