Food Chain Biomagnification of Heavy Metals in Samples From the Lower Prut Floodplain Natural Park

Abstract

Pollutants transfer via the food chain was investigated in a wetland ecosystem from the Lower Prut Floodplain Natural Park in Romania. Trace elements (Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn) were determined by Inductively Coupled Plasma -Optical Emission Spectrometry (ICP-OES) from samples belonging to primary producers and primary and secondary consumers, and also from water and sediments samples. Non-essential trace elements as Cd and Pb exhibited low concentrations in molluscs and fish, but zinc had shown concentration up to 745.28 µg/g in Cyprinus carpio.

Human health risk assessment of heavy metals in tropical fish and shellfish collected from the river Buriganga, Bangladesh

“…Subsequently, these activities have increased the release of harmful heavy metals into the aquatic environment (Agusa et al 2005(Agusa et al , 2007Hajeb et al 2009) which are well known environmental pollutants (Gulec et al 2004). Heavy metals are a global concern, due to their potential toxic effect and ability to bioaccumulate in aquatic ecosystems (David et al 2012;Hall 2014;Batvari et al 2015). Pb, Ba, Cd, Hg, Cr, and As are classified as toxic heavy metals, and maximum residual levels have been prescribed for humans (FAO 1983;EC 2001;FDA 2001) and have no established role in biological system (Canli and Atli 2003), whereas metals such as Cu, Na, K, Ca, Mn, Se, Fe, and Zn are essential metals for fish metabolism but may also bioaccumulate and reach toxic levels that can potentially destroy the ecological environment (Agusa et al 2005(Agusa et al , 2007Hajeb et al 2009).…”

Trapping Ionic Mercury Using Different Adsorbents

“…Industrial and municipal wastewater frequently contains trace metal ions. These trace metals pose threat to the environment due to their toxicity, long persistence, bioaccumulation, and biomagnifications in the food chain . In fact, low concentrations of these metals are toxic to the aquatic flora, animals, and human beings.…”

“…In fact, low concentrations of these metals are toxic to the aquatic flora, animals, and human beings. The propensity of trace metals to accumulate in water bodies poses a serious danger to humans and other living beings that feed on aquatic organisms . In particular, discharge of industrial effluents laden with toxic concentrations of mercury has raised global concerns .…”

“…Mercury is among the common toxic and hazardous metals found in the wastewater effluents of several industries. Once mercury enters the food chain, large accumulation of its compounds takes place in fishes, humans, and other animals . In humans, mercury can cause central nervous system disorders, damage to the chromosomes, impairment of pulmonary function, kidney disorders, chest pain, and dysophoea .…”

Heavy metals concentration in water and sediments of the Prut River lower sector

“…Four campaigns have been performed for water collection during different river regimes (both flooding and drought). The water quality is an essential condition for the wetland ecosystems within the park area and the aquatic biota they support, as trace elements bioaccumulation along the food webs might appear (David et al, 2012). Sediments can provide useful information regarding mid-and long-term pollution of the aquatic bodies, being capable of sequestering and releasing important amounts of heavy metals depending on the river regime and extreme situations (van Gestel, 2008;Verhoeven, 2009).…”