Heavy Metal Distribution in Aquatic Products from Eastern Guangdong and Associated Health Risk Assessment
With the rapid industrialization and urbanization of coastal areas, marine pollution (such as heavy metals) is increasingly contaminating the environment, posing significant public health risks. Eastern Guangdong, a key aquaculture and fisheries hub in China, has a growing market for aquatic product...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Toxics |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2305-6304/12/12/881 |
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| author | Jinyan Liu You’an Yu Zewei Sun Keqin Zhang Ping Li Wenhua Liu Ran Bi |
| author_facet | Jinyan Liu You’an Yu Zewei Sun Keqin Zhang Ping Li Wenhua Liu Ran Bi |
| author_sort | Jinyan Liu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | With the rapid industrialization and urbanization of coastal areas, marine pollution (such as heavy metals) is increasingly contaminating the environment, posing significant public health risks. Eastern Guangdong, a key aquaculture and fisheries hub in China, has a growing market for aquatic products. Heavy metals persist in the environment and are difficult to degrade and bioaccumulate in marine organisms through the food web, presenting carcinogenic and mutagenic risks to humans, as top predators. This study analyzed 10 key species commonly consumed by residents of eastern Guangdong (bivalves, crustaceans, and fish), measuring the concentrations of six heavy metals (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb) using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Pollution levels were assessed using the pollution index (Pi), and dietary exposure risks were evaluated via the target hazard quotient (THQ) for different age groups. Results showed that Pi values for all metals were within normal background levels, but bivalves had a high capacity for Cd accumulation, with pollution severity ranking as bivalves > crustaceans > fish. The THQ values for both adults and teenagers were <1 across all samples, indicating no risk to the health of residents. However, the TTHQ for <i>Sanguinolaria</i> sp. exceeded 1, indicating potential health risks. This study highlights the health risks of consuming heavy metal-contaminated aquatic products, particularly bivalves. Reducing the consumption of these high-metal species could help lower dietary exposure and associated risks. Our findings provide essential data for the quality assessment of aquatic products and offer dietary recommendations for residents in eastern Guangdong. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-5a530cf40867442b92634e3a08cc6f11 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2305-6304 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Toxics |
| spelling | doaj-art-5a530cf40867442b92634e3a08cc6f112024-12-27T14:56:41ZengMDPI AGToxics2305-63042024-12-01121288110.3390/toxics12120881Heavy Metal Distribution in Aquatic Products from Eastern Guangdong and Associated Health Risk AssessmentJinyan Liu0You’an Yu1Zewei Sun2Keqin Zhang3Ping Li4Wenhua Liu5Ran Bi6Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Marine Disaster Prediction and Prevention, and Institute of Marine Sciences, Shantou University, Shantou 515063, ChinaGuangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Marine Disaster Prediction and Prevention, and Institute of Marine Sciences, Shantou University, Shantou 515063, ChinaGuangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Marine Disaster Prediction and Prevention, and Institute of Marine Sciences, Shantou University, Shantou 515063, ChinaGuangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Marine Disaster Prediction and Prevention, and Institute of Marine Sciences, Shantou University, Shantou 515063, ChinaGuangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Marine Disaster Prediction and Prevention, and Institute of Marine Sciences, Shantou University, Shantou 515063, ChinaGuangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Marine Disaster Prediction and Prevention, and Institute of Marine Sciences, Shantou University, Shantou 515063, ChinaGuangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Marine Disaster Prediction and Prevention, and Institute of Marine Sciences, Shantou University, Shantou 515063, ChinaWith the rapid industrialization and urbanization of coastal areas, marine pollution (such as heavy metals) is increasingly contaminating the environment, posing significant public health risks. Eastern Guangdong, a key aquaculture and fisheries hub in China, has a growing market for aquatic products. Heavy metals persist in the environment and are difficult to degrade and bioaccumulate in marine organisms through the food web, presenting carcinogenic and mutagenic risks to humans, as top predators. This study analyzed 10 key species commonly consumed by residents of eastern Guangdong (bivalves, crustaceans, and fish), measuring the concentrations of six heavy metals (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb) using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Pollution levels were assessed using the pollution index (Pi), and dietary exposure risks were evaluated via the target hazard quotient (THQ) for different age groups. Results showed that Pi values for all metals were within normal background levels, but bivalves had a high capacity for Cd accumulation, with pollution severity ranking as bivalves > crustaceans > fish. The THQ values for both adults and teenagers were <1 across all samples, indicating no risk to the health of residents. However, the TTHQ for <i>Sanguinolaria</i> sp. exceeded 1, indicating potential health risks. This study highlights the health risks of consuming heavy metal-contaminated aquatic products, particularly bivalves. Reducing the consumption of these high-metal species could help lower dietary exposure and associated risks. Our findings provide essential data for the quality assessment of aquatic products and offer dietary recommendations for residents in eastern Guangdong.https://www.mdpi.com/2305-6304/12/12/881marine pollutionheavy metalaquatic productshealth risk |
| spellingShingle | Jinyan Liu You’an Yu Zewei Sun Keqin Zhang Ping Li Wenhua Liu Ran Bi Heavy Metal Distribution in Aquatic Products from Eastern Guangdong and Associated Health Risk Assessment Toxics marine pollution heavy metal aquatic products health risk |
| title | Heavy Metal Distribution in Aquatic Products from Eastern Guangdong and Associated Health Risk Assessment |
| title_full | Heavy Metal Distribution in Aquatic Products from Eastern Guangdong and Associated Health Risk Assessment |
| title_fullStr | Heavy Metal Distribution in Aquatic Products from Eastern Guangdong and Associated Health Risk Assessment |
| title_full_unstemmed | Heavy Metal Distribution in Aquatic Products from Eastern Guangdong and Associated Health Risk Assessment |
| title_short | Heavy Metal Distribution in Aquatic Products from Eastern Guangdong and Associated Health Risk Assessment |
| title_sort | heavy metal distribution in aquatic products from eastern guangdong and associated health risk assessment |
| topic | marine pollution heavy metal aquatic products health risk |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2305-6304/12/12/881 |
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