Assessment of human health risk for heavy metals in fish and shrimp collected from Subarnarekha river, India

Abstract

Five fish species and one shrimp species from the Subarnarekha river were analyzed for heavy metals using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry. The geometric mean concentration of As, Cd, Cu, Fe, Pb, Ni, Zn, Cr, Co, and Sr for all the samples was found to be 0.248, 0.031, 5.16, 104.9, 0.121, 4.68, 52.2, 0.784, 0.207, and 42.86 mg kg⁻¹_fresh, respectively. The concentrations of metals in the fish and shrimp exceed the limits of Indian and FAO standards for food for As, Cu, Ni, Cd, and Zn in many samples. The mean target hazard quotient (THQ) values for the 10 metals were below one for all the samples; however, the maximum THQ was more than one for shrimp in case of As, Cu, and Cr. The results indicate that the concentration of metals in some species, especially shrimp, at some locations is alarming and do present an appreciable hazard risk on human health.

Keywords:

• risk assessment
• daily intake
• target hazard quotient
• hazard index

Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, for providing the necessary funding for the study under the Fast Track Young Scientist Scheme [Grant No. SR/FTP/ES-185/2010 (G)]. Also, the authors are thankful to the Director and Geo-Environment Division (EMG), Central Institute of Mining and Fuel Research, Dhanbad, for providing the necessary laboratory facilities and other logistic support for the study.