Assessment of Human Health Risk for Arsenic, Copper, Nickel, Mercury and Zinc in Fish Collected from Tropical Wetlands in India

Abstract

Fishes are constantly exposed to aquatic system and exposure of metals through ï¬sh consumption may lead to health risks, especially for high-ï¬sh consumption populations. This study determined levels of As, Cu, Hg, Ni, and Zn in muscle tissues of ï¬sh from Kolkata wetland and estimated the health risk posed by ï¬sh ingestion. The levels of heavy metals were below the permissible limits issued by JECFA of FAO/WHO. The tolerable intake of As, Cu, Hg, Ni, and Zn as PTWI (Provisional Tolerable Weekly Intake) and PTDI (Provisional Tolerable Daily Intake) was calculated and presented. To estimate the human health risk, the target hazard quotient (THQs), was calculated and discussed, THQs for individual metals were lower than USEPA guideline value of 1. However, the hazard index of arsenic, copper, mercury, nickel and zinc mixture for Catla catla was marginally high. The target cancer risk (TR) of arsenic and nickel for intake of the Catla catla, Oreochromis nilotica and Labeo rohita was 1.5x10^-4 and 5.8x10^-4, 7.7x10^-5 and 3.0x10^-4, 4.7x10^-5 and 5.4x10^-4, respectively, with the average of 8.6 x 10^-5 and 4.7 x 10^-4, respectively. More intensive study is needed in order to determine the toxic metals in fish, and not only to report levels of contaminants but also important to compare them with health criteria values.  Copyright © www.iiste.org

Keywords: Fish muscle, arsenic, copper, mercury, nickel, zinc, health risk, tolerable intake, HI, THQs, TR