Concentration and Exposure Assessment of Mercury in Commercial Fish and Other Seafood Marketed in Oman

Abstract

The results of this study present analytical data of the mercury levels in several fish and shellfish species to create awareness among individuals of the risks associated with consuming fish contaminated with mercury. Mercury concentrations varied from a mean of 0.02 mg/kg in Indian mackerel to 0.19 mg/kg in shark in both fresh and frozen fish, from 0.02 mg/kg in sardines to 0.18 mg/kg in skipjack tuna in canned fish, and from 0.02 mg/kg in Indian mackerel to 0.79 mg/kg in shark in dried fish. Shellfish contained a slightly higher amount of mercury than fresh or frozen fish with a mean of 0.09 mg/kg. Trophic position, followed by habitat, was the most important factors for variability in mercury concentrations in fish and shellfish. The maximum safe weekly intake (MSWI) values of mercury were significantly higher for herbivores than for carnivores. The MSWI value for total mercury in the case of consuming most (72%) fish species was more than 5 kg; however, the MSWI value was never more than 5 kg in most (66%) shellfish species. Risks were identified upon consumption of 120 g of dried shark when exceeding the provisional tolerable weekly intake threshold (1.6 μg/kg) for methylmercury. Therefore, fish-eating populations should reduce the quantity of dried shark to efficiently diminish the exposure to mercury.

Effect of Mercury Transfer from Producer to Consumer in a Marine Environment

“…g -1 (Fig. 7), which was in line with earlier studies [3,6,11]. Fish exposed to three different concentrations showed an increasing trend of Hg concentrations with 96 h exposure.…”

“…Mercury contamination was found to adversely affect organisms through absorption from the seawater, sediment, metal uptake, and bioaccumulation in the aquatic chain [5][6][7][8][9]. The finfish and shellfish provide useful tools for monitoring mercury concentrations and their impact on the aquatic environment [1,8,[10][11]. Earlier researchers [10][11][12] used atomic absorption spectrophotometry to detect mercury with sensitivity at ±0.01 ppm.…”

“…The finfish and shellfish provide useful tools for monitoring mercury concentrations and their impact on the aquatic environment [1,8,[10][11]. Earlier researchers [10][11][12] used atomic absorption spectrophotometry to detect mercury with sensitivity at ±0.01 ppm. The precision of their results was limited due to interference by organic constituents.…”

Using L‐Arginine‐Functionalized Gold Nanorods for Visible Detection of Mercury(II) Ions

“…Mercury tends to be bioaccumulated and biomagnified in aquatic food chains (Clarkson and others ; Leopold and others ). Consequently, consumption of fish and other seafood is one of the most important exposure routes for mercury (Al‐Mughairi and others ; Greenfield and others ). Based on the Natl.…”

Preliminary study of blood methylmercury effects on reproductive hormones and relevant factors among infertile and pregnant women in Taiwan

“…The level of human exposure to MeHg mainly depended on the quality (species) and quantity (eating portion and frequency) of fish consumption (Dolbec et al, 2001;Usydus et al, 2009;Al-Mughairi et al, 2013). The blood MeHg concentration was greater in infertile women than that in pregnant women (Fig.…”