Human health risk and ecological risk assessment of metals in fishes, shrimps and sediment from a tropical river

摘要

Concentrations of Cd, Cu, Pb, Ni, Zn and Cr were estimated using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry in sediment, water, fish and shrimp collected from the Subarnarekha River. Fish species Mystus gulio, Puntius conchonius, Labeo calbasu, Labeo rohita and Labeo bata, while the shrimp species Penaeus indicus, were used for the study. The range of Cd, Cu, Pb, Ni, Zn and Cr in all the samples was found to be 0.004-0.85, 0.75-145.2, 0.03-0.41, 1.25-21.5, 12.4-109.5 and 0.22-11.36 mg kg(-1) fresh, respectively. The concentrations of metals in the fish and shrimp exceed the limits of Indian and international standards for food for Cu, Ni, Cd and Zn in some samples. Higher concentrations of the metals were observed in the shrimp as compared to fish samples. The calculated daily intakes of the metals through the consumption of fish and shrimps ranged from 0.30 to 27.0 % of the corresponding tolerable limits suggested by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives. The mean target hazard quotient values for the 6 metals were below 1 for all the samples; however, the maximum was more than 1 for shrimp Cu and Cr. The results indicated that the concentration of the metals in shrimps at some locations was alarming and pose an appreciable hazard risk on human health. Potential ecological risk analysis of sediment indicated that most of the sites posed moderate ecological risk with Cd posing a considerable risk at all the sites.