Researches Regarding the Determination of the Potentially Toxic Substances in the Fish Meat

Abstract

SUMMARY The study was made on five species: carp, zander, D anube scomber, mackerel and saurel. It is appreciated that both the carp and t he zander from the Danube Delta reflects the level of lead contamination of all the fish species in this area. It is not dangerous yet for the human health, but for knowing its future evolution, some periodic investigation should be necessary. The reduced quantity of lead in the Danu be scomber is explainable by the fact that it lives most of the time in the Black Sea. Although the toxic potential of cadmium is higher t han that of the lead and is used extensively in industry, it couldn’t be found in th e meat of the species under study.The research proved for all the fish species under stud y that the zink and tin content correspond to the natural content, becoming dangerous only when t heir level increases very much from contamination sources. Copper, although in small quantities is found natur ally in meat and organs, it can become dangerous when its content exceeds its natur al level. Its presence in the oceanic fish is explained by their diet, many aquatic livings ha ve the natural pigment represented by the hemocianine, in which copper fulfills the same task as the blood hemoglobin present in other animals. For the fish with a permanent habitat in the Danube Delta, the values that were recorded prove that the Danube’s water is polluted with mercury, although it ranges in acceptable limits.It is considered that the fish in the Danube Delta don’t represent a risk for the human health. However, a permanent monitoring regarding the lead and mercury contamination is necessary.