Diversity of total mercury concentrations in kidneys of birds from Eastern Poland.

Total mercury concentration in the kidneys of birds from Poland

“…The present study confirmed high renal concentrations of mercury in the trophic guild of aquatic piscivorous birds (Tables 1 and 2), which has also been ascertained by other authors (Boening, 2000;Falandysz et al, 2001;Houserova et al, 2005;Misztal-Szkudlinska et al, 2011). Birds that belong to the omnivorous guild accumulated the smallest amounts of renal Hg due to their wide food niche, which corresponds with the previously reported data (Kitowski et al, 2012).…”

“…In turn, Nastaran et al (2011), in a study on adult and immature Cormorants from the southwestern coast of the Caspian Sea, reported a mean renal mercury content of 9.27 mg/kg (Saeki et al, 2000). Interestingly, two specimens of Cormorants from eastern Poland that we studied earlier (one adult and one immature individual) had accumulated in their kidneys only 3.32 and 1.76 mg/kg dw Hg, respectively (Kitowski et al, 2012). These values were decidedly lower than those given by the authors cited above.…”

“…An earlier study from eastern Poland indicated the presence of elevated levels of Hg concentration in the kidneys of birds of prey in areas where mercury-based pesticides and fungicides were applied more extensively . Moreover, analyses on kidneys of Buzzards from eastern Poland (Komosa et al, 2009;Kitowski et al, 2012) indicated a distinct increase in mercury concentration over 3 years (from 2009 to 2012).…”

“…Current studies show that the concentration of Hg in the key organs of birds can reflect the concentration level of this element in their diet, which can be strictly related to the contamination degree of habitats or ecosystems used by the monitored birds (Monteiro et al, 1998;Falandysz, 2001;Kenntner et al, 2003;Bustnes et al, 2013). The especially high bioindicative value can be attributed to data derived from the analysis of key organs from sedentary top predators (Castro et al, 2011;Bustnes et al, 2013) and species with a very large home range (Krone et al, 2006;Misztal-Szkudlinska et al 2011;Kitowski et al, 2012). The aim of the present study was to determine the mercury levels in kidneys from a high number of specimens (n = 154) from 28 species of birds inhabiting the eastern part of Poland, and also to discuss the factors influencing the elevated concentrations of this element.…”

Determination of the Level of Selected Elements in Canned Meat and Fish and Risk Assessment for Consumer Health

“…It is important to monitor the level of this element in various food products, especially in fish products which are among the main sources of mercury introduced into the organism along the alimentary pathway. Other authors addressed the issue of mercury contamination of the human population in respect of nutrition, life style, and mercury level in herbal products, cereal products, and tobacco or the contamination of birds of prey in Poland [19,[21][22][23][24][25]. In accordance with the regulation CE 1881/2006 with later revisions, the established maximum allowable level of mercury content in fish products is 0.5 mg·kg −1 , and 1.0 mg·kg −1 in the case of certain specified fish species, e.g., tuna fish [26].…”