Total and methylmercury intake associated with fish consumption in Bahrain

Authors: Freije, Afnan; Awadh, Maysoon

Source: Water and Environment Journal, Volume 23, Number 2, June 2009 , pp. 155-164(10)

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Abstract:

This study was performed to determine the total mercury (T-Hg) and methylmercury (MeHg) concentrations in five fish species: Scomberomorus commerson, Siganus canaliculatus, Epinephelus coioides, Lethrinus nedulosus and Sardinella albella. The highest mean concentrations of T-Hg and MeHg (0.126±0.009 and 0.123±0.010 mg/kg wet weight, respectively) were found in the carnivorous fish S. commerson, whereas the lowest concentrations were determined in the herbivorous fish S. albella (0.029±0.005 and 0.028±0.005 mg/kg wet weight, respectively). MeHg was the major form of mercury accumulated in fish, comprising more than 94.6% of the T-Hg in fish samples examined in this study. The overall mean concentrations of T-Hg and MeHg found in the species studied were generally lower than those reported in earlier studies in the region and did not exceed international limits (0.5 and 0.3 mg/kg wet weight, respectively). The overall mean of T-Hg intake from fish was estimated to be 0.0003 mg/kg/week, which is less than the threshold level set by the World Health Organization (WHO) (0.0016 mg/kg/week).

Keywords: atomic absorption; fish; GC-ECD; methylmercury; total mercury

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1747-6593.2008.00129.x

Affiliations: 1: Department of Biology, College of Science, University of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bahrain

Publication date: 2009-06-01