Arsenic in freshwater fish in the Chihuahua County water reservoirs (Mexico)

Abstract

Water reservoirs in Chihuahua County, Mexico, are affected by some punctual and non-punctual geogenic and anthropogenic pollution sources; fish are located at the top of the food chain and are good indicators for the ecosystems pollution. The study goal was to: (i) determine arsenic concentration in fish collected from the Chuviscar, Chihuahua, San Marcos and El Rejon water reservoirs; (ii) to assess if the fishes are suitable for human consumption and (iii) link the arsenic contents in fish with those in sediment and water reported in studies made the same year for these water reservoirs. Sampling was done in summer, fall and winter. The highest arsenic concentration in the species varied through the sampling periods: Channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) with 0.22 ± 0.15 mg/kg dw in winter and Green sunfish (Lepomis cyanellus) with 2.00 ± 0.15 mg/kg dw in summer in El Rejon water reservoir. A positive correlation of arsenic contents was found through all sampling seasons in fish samples and the samples of sediment and water. The contribution of the weekly intake of inorganic arsenic, based on the consumption of 0.245 kg fish muscles/body weight/week was found lower than the acceptable weekly intake of 0.015 mg/kg/body weight for inorganic arsenic suggested by FAO/WHO.

Risk assessment of toxic residues among some freshwater and marine water fish species

“…The mercury residues in the current study were nearly similar to those (0.11 ± 0.22-0.19 ± 0.09 mg/kg) in fish collected from Italian Coasts (30). Meanwhile, lower Hg values were obtained at 0.014 ± 0.007 mg/kg in the Italian study (38) and 0.017 ± 0.004 and 0.020 ± 0.005 mg/kg in salmon and trout, respectively, in the Norwegian study (34). Because MeHg is harmful to the development of the brain, pregnant women and young children should be especially cautious about exposure to mercury (39).…”

“…The As residual concentration in marine fish was similar to EFSA ( 33 ) data, which reported a mean value of 1.45 mg/kg after examination of 3,505 different species. In addition, 0.78 ± 0.26 and 0.94 ± 0.31 mg/kg of salmon and trout were collected from the Norwegian fish market ( 34 ). However, As content in the current study was much higher than 0.59–0.69 mg/kg in fish collected from Italian Coasts ( 30 ).…”

Estimation of Seasonal Risk Caused by the Intake of Lead, Mercury and Cadmium through Freshwater Fish Consumption from Urban Water Reservoirs in Arid Areas of Northern Mexico

“…A previous study was conducted by the authors to evaluate arsenic concentrations in fish from Chihuahua County dams and it was found that the arsenic concentration varied through the sampling periods [ 23 ]. However, it should be highlighted that this is the first study done to determine the concentrations of heavy metals (Hg, Cd, Pb) in fish and estimate their weekly intake through the consumption of fish from water reservoirs of Chihuahua County.…”

Arsenic Distribution Assessment in a Residential Area Polluted with Mining Residues

“…Previous studies have revealed that human exposure to high concentrations of some soluble heavy metals affects the central nervous system and may also disrupt the functioning of some organs [5,6]. Studies performed on dams in Chihuahua City reported high concentrations of heavy metals in fishes, an important bioindicator of their presence in the local abiotic environment and representing a health risk due to their ingestion [7,8].…”