Concentrations of heavy metals in marine wild fishes captured from the southern sea of Korea and associated health risk assessments

Abstract

Concentrations of heavy metals (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Pb, and Zn) were determined in edible parts (muscle) of 34 marine wild fish caught from the southern sea of Korea in 2007 and 2008 in order to understand the accumulation pattern of heavy metals in wild fish and to assess the potential health risk posed by fish consumption. The highest concentrations in the muscle of 17 pelagic and 17 demersal fishes were Zn and As, respectively, while the lowest concentration in both fishes was Cd. The mean concentrations of all metals except As in wild fish were much lower than the regulatory limits for fish and fishery products applied in a number of countries. Unlike other metals, As concentration in wild fish of this study region was relatively higher than that found in other country. Estimated daily intake (EDI) of the metals was in the range of 0.05% to 22.5% of the provisional maximum tolerable daily intakes (PMTDI). Similarly, the target hazard quotient (THQ) was below 1.0 for each metal. These results imply that the consumption of the investigated wild fish do not cause significant adverse health effects.