Assessment of Heavy Metals in Bivalves Molluscs of Apulian Region: a 3-years control activity of a EU Laboratory

Abstract

The bivalve molluscs represent an important matrix to be studied for several reasons. Their nutritional properties make them valuable to the consumers, so that their consumption and commercial value has risen worldwide. Simultaneously, their significant water-filtering capability and their persistence in the same place make them good bio-indicators of marine ecosystems. The presence of the heavy metal contaminants, as Cd, Pb and Hg, was investigated in bivalve molluscs such as mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis), clams (Venus gallina) and oysters (Ostrea edulis). In the present study, a survey was carried out on 334 samples addressed to the Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale - Puglia e Basilicata, Foggia (ITALY) between 2009-2011, and collected by official authorities along the coasts of Apulia Region. The conformity of heavy metal content in bivalve molluscs was verified, in according to EC Reg. 1881/2006. The compliance was found for the total amount of samples. The obtained data on heavy metals concentration in bivalve molluscs were compared with data found in monitoring studies on the incidence of heavy metals in 1981 in North-Western Mediterranean Sea, in 2003 in Tyrrhenian Sea and in 2010 in Pacific Ocean (Chile), reported in literature. The information obtained from this work offer an essential database, not only for the authorities involved in food control, but also for the official institutions responsible of a constant control of the marine ecosystem pollution.