BIOGEOCHEMICAL EVALUATION OF TRACE ELEMENTS IN FISH LIVER

Thirteen environmental elements were distinguished in the livers of various species of fish that have been sampled from 15 sites in a restricted area of the KhorramAbad River Basin in Lorestan province (west of Iran). Sites sampled represented agricultural, mining, mixed, and urban/recreation land uses and background conditions. Lithium and silver were not detected at any of the sites. The minimum concentration of trace elements in the fish liver of the above mentioned basin belongs to vanadium and the maximum concentration to iron. Cadmium, selenium, and zinc were selected for a more detailed analysis. Cadmium concentrations in fish liver were highest at mining land use sites, whereas the selenium and zinc concentrations were highest at agricultural land use sites in the KhorramAbad River Basin. A comparison of the study to similar studies in the United States and Iran indicated that the total medium frequency of fish samples for cadmium, selenium and zinc in the KhorramAbad unit was higher than the analyzed fish samples of the Upper Colorado River Basin and Southern beaches of the Caspian Sea study basins.