Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2012 Jan;88(1):78-83.
doi: 10.1007/s00128-011-0433-6. Epub 2011 Oct 22.

Heavy metals concentrations in fish from Sicily (Mediterranean Sea) and evaluation of possible health risks to consumers

Chiara Copat  1 , Francesca Bella, Marine Castaing, Roberto Fallico, Salvatore Sciacca, Margherita Ferrante
Affiliations

Heavy metals concentrations in fish from Sicily (Mediterranean Sea) and evaluation of possible health risks to consumers

Chiara Copat et al. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol. 2012 Jan.

Abstract

Cadmium, lead, mercury and chromium concentrations in fish muscle tissue taken from various Sicilian areas were detected. Fish caught in Siracusa, nearby a petrochemical industrial area, were more contaminated by cadmium, lead and chromium (respectively 0.366, 0.32, 0.72 μg/g) than those from the other sites. In the Sicily Channel, we found the highest bioaccumulation of mercury (0.31 μg/g). Although some metals concentrations exceed the limits set by the European regulation, the estimated weekly intake was below the Provisional Tolerable Weekly Intake established by the European Food and Safety Authority, and the Target Hazard Quotient values indicate that there is no carcinogenic risk for humans.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Map of Sicily. Black dots indicate the sample areas
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Canli M, Atli G. The relationships between heavy metal (Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Pb, Zn) levels and the size of six Mediterranean fish species. Environ Pollut. 2003;121:129–136. doi: 10.1016/S0269-7491(02)00194-X. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Chien LC, Hung TC, Choang KY, Yeh CY, Meng PJ, Shieh MJ, Ha BC. Daily intake of TBT, Cu, Zn, Cd and As for fishermen in Taiwan. Sci Total Environ. 2002;285:177–185. doi: 10.1016/S0048-9697(01)00916-0. - DOI - PubMed
    1. De TK, De M, Das S, Ray R, Ghosh PB. Level of heavy metals in some edible marine fishes of mangrove dominated tropical estuarine areas of Hooghly River, North East Coast of Bay of Bengal, India. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol. 2010;85:385–390. doi: 10.1007/s00128-010-0102-1. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Demo Istat.it (2011) Speranza di vita alla nascita e a 65 anni, per sesso e regione—Anni—2007–2010. Available via DIALOG.http://demo.istat.it/altridati/indicatori/2010/Tab_5.pdf. Accessed 07 Oct 2011
    1. Di Leo A, Cardellicchio N, Giandomenico S, Spada L. Mercury and methylmercury contamination in Mytilus galloprovincialis from Taranto Gulf (Ionian Sea, Southern Italy): Risk evaluation for consumers. Food Chem Toxicol. 2010;48:3131–3136. doi: 10.1016/j.fct.2010.08.008. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources