Heavy Metal Concentration and Health Risk Assessment of Some Species of Fish, Rasht, Iran

Background and purpose: Fish is an important source of protein for human and is an important part of the diet, so, studying the concentration of heavy metals in commercial fish could be helpful in evaluating the risk of fish consumption. A total of 60 fish samples from four different species including anchovy, white, perch, and trout was randomly collected in fall 2016 from Rast Fish Market. After sample preparation and microwave digestion, the amount of heavy metals were determined by inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometer (ICP-OES). The US Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) method was used to estimate the health risks associated with exposure to heavy metals in fish samples. The highest concentrations of heavy metals included mercury in whitefish (1.29 ± 0.23 μg/g), lead in whitefish (4.54 ± 0.75 μg/g), cadmium in salmon (0.07 ± 0.01 μg/g), arsenic in whitefish (1.36± 0.15 μg/g), nickel in whitefish (0.61 ± 0.07 μg/g), tin in whitefish (0.63 ± 0.05 μg/g), and chromium in fish perch (1.52 ± 0.04 μg/g). Non-cancer risk for all heavy metals in all the species was less than 1. The concentration of metals in species studied was in acceptable level, indicating no risk of toxicity. According to current results, fish consumption does not lead to adverse health effects.