Abstract
This study was carried out to measure the concentration of heavy metals (Pb, Mn, Cr, Cd, Ni, Zn, and Cu) in water and Bolti fish (Tilapia nilotica) samples collected from Rasheed branch of River Nile, north of El-Giza Governorate, Egypt by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The investigated districts through which the branch passes include El-Manashi, Gezzaya, El Katta, Abo Ghaleb and Wardan. Based on WHO and FAO safety reference standards, the results of the current study showed that water and fish tissues were found to contain heavy metals at significantly variable concentration levels among the investigated districts. They were polluted with respect to all the metals tested at Gezzaya district. However, the levels of analyzed metals in water and fish tissues were found lower than legal limits in other districts. The heavy metals showed differential bioaccumulation in fish tissues of the different districts as the accumulation pattern (as total heavy metal residues) was district dependant as follow: Gezzaya > Wardan > El Katta > Abo Ghaleb > El Manashi.
Highlights
Hundreds of pollutants are discharged into the environment every day
To evaluate the quality of the aquatic systems, toxic metals can be determined in water, sediment and aquatic organisms to find out the source of toxicants
In Egypt, drinking water comes from surface or ground water
Summary
Hundreds of pollutants are discharged into the environment every day. Of these, heavy metals are regarded as serious pollutants of the aquatic environment because of their environmental persistence and tendency to be concentrated in aquatic organisms (Harte et a/. , 1991; SchOOrmann and Markert, 1998). Studies in Egypt conducted on fish samples collected from eight Governorates, not including north EI-Giza, indicate the presence of some metals (e.g. lead, cadmium, chromium, zinc, copper, and manganese) in different fish organs (Gomaa et at, 1995; Rashed, 2001 ; Mansour and Sidky, 2002; Abdallah, 2007). In spite of the importance of this branch of River Nile in irrigation as well as a fishery resource in EI-Giza Governorate, the accumulation of chemical pollutants are expected to increase annually in all of its components (e.g. water and fish). This is owing to the rapid increases in the number of populations around its coast. This study would attempt to provide answers to some of the questions about the increased incidences of renal and hepatic failure among the inhabitants on the bank of this River Nile branch
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