Presence of arsenic, mercury and vanadium in aquatic organisms of Laizhou Bay and their potential health risk

Yuan Liu; Guijian Liu; Zijiao Yuan; Houqi Liu; Paul K S Lam

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.09.045

Presence of arsenic, mercury and vanadium in aquatic organisms of Laizhou Bay and their potential health risk

Mar Pollut Bull. 2017 Dec 15;125(1-2):334-340. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.09.045. Epub 2017 Sep 28.

Authors

Yuan Liu¹, Guijian Liu², Zijiao Yuan³, Houqi Liu⁴, Paul K S Lam⁵

Affiliations

¹ CAS Key Laboratory of Crust-Mantle Materials and the Environments, School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China; State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi'an 710075, China; State Key Laboratory in Marine Pollution, Department of Chemistry, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.
² CAS Key Laboratory of Crust-Mantle Materials and the Environments, School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China; State Key Laboratory of Loess and Quaternary Geology, Institute of Earth Environment, The Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xi'an 710075, China. Electronic address: lgj@ustc.edu.cn.
³ CAS Key Laboratory of Crust-Mantle Materials and the Environments, School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China.
⁴ CAS Key Laboratory of Crust-Mantle Materials and the Environments, School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China; Suzhou Institute for Advanced Study, University of Science and Technology of China, Suzhou 215123, China.
⁵ State Key Laboratory in Marine Pollution, Department of Chemistry, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China.

PMID: 28967412
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.09.045

Abstract

This study aims at describing and interpreting concentrations of arsenic (As), mercury (Hg) and vanadium (V) in seven species of fish, three species of shellfish, one species of crab and two species of shrimp from the typical estuary-bay ecosystem. Arsenic, Hg and V differed among species, and the highest As, Hg and V were observed in shellfish. The stable nitrogen (δ¹⁵N) and carbon (δ¹³C) isotopes were determined to investigate the trophic interactions between fluctuating environment and aquatic species. Arsenic concentrations in samples were found negatively correlated with δ¹⁵N, implying biodilution effect of As through the food web, while Hg concentrations in samples were positively correlated with δ¹⁵N, indicating their biomagnification effect. The estimated daily intake values of Hg and V in this study were all below the oral reference dose. However, elevated As intakes of some aquatic organisms suggested a potential risk for frequent consumers.

Keywords: Aquatic organism; Laizhou Bay; Stable isotope ratios; Trace elements.

MeSH terms

Animals
Arsenic / analysis*
Bays
Carbon Isotopes / analysis
China
Crustacea / chemistry*
Environmental Monitoring
Fishes*
Food Chain
Humans
Mercury / analysis*
Nitrogen Isotopes / analysis
Risk Assessment
Seafood / analysis*
Vanadium / analysis*
Water Pollutants, Chemical / analysis*

Substances

Carbon Isotopes
Nitrogen Isotopes
Water Pollutants, Chemical
Vanadium
Mercury
Arsenic