Health risk assessment of mercury and arsenic associated with consumption of fish from the Persian Gulf

Abstract

Concentrations of mercury and arsenic in fish from the Persian Gulf were determined by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. Concentrations of the metals in muscle samples were 0.049-0.402μgg(-1) for mercury and 0.168-0.479μgg(-1) for arsenic, with means of 0.133 and 0.312μgg(-1), respectively. The maximum daily consumption rate (grams per day) and meal consumption limit (meals per month) was calculated to estimate health risks associated with fish consumption. According to the results, the maximum allowable consumption rate varies between 8-56 and 15-96g/day base on mercury and arsenic content, respectively. The results of this study indicate that the concentration of mercury and arsenic is well below the maximum permissible levels for mercury (0.5μgg(-1)) and arsenic (6μgg(-1)) according to international standards.