Heavy Metals in the Fish Tenualosa ilisha Hamilton, 1822 in the Padma–Meghna River Confluence: Potential Risks to Public Health

Abstract

Hilsa shad (Tenulosa ilisha) is Bangladesh’s most important single-species fishery that contributes to 11% of total catch and employment for millions of people. However, heavy metals (HMs) toxicity in the edible organs of T. ilisha and their plausible public health threats have received weak attention. To provide insights on this issue, we determined, using ICP-MS, the concentration of Zn, Cu, Cr (VI), Pb, and Cd in the edible organs of five different sizes of T. ilisha and the surface water collected from the Padma–Meghna River confluence, Chandpur (Bangladesh). Multivariate analysis indicated that T. ilisha gills and liver contained higher HMs than muscle, and the surface water was below the safety limits. The study revealed that only Cr crossed the safety limits and bioaccumulated in the smaller-sized gills and liver. To assess the public health risks, target hazard quotient (THQ), total THQ (TTHQ) and carcinogenic (CR) risks were calculated. Only Cr imposed non-carcinogenic risks to consumers, while TTHQ showed higher chronic health risks. There was no CR risk measured for consumers, except for the largest-sized gills for children. Randomly positive relations between HMs and sizes were found; whereas, consistently positive relations were found among the tissue types. The outcomes of our study may aid policymakers in managing pollutants, especially the Cr sources in the greater Chandpur regions.

Distribution of Essential and Toxic Elements in Pelecus cultratus Tissues and Risk Assessment for Consumer Health

“…In our study, the contents of Cd and Pb in the analyzed tissues of sabrefish were the lowest. Similar results, where the concentrations of essential elements exceeded those of Cd and Pb, were shown for both marine and freshwater pelagic fish species inhabiting rivers as well as lakes [ 96 , 113 , 114 , 115 , 116 , 117 , 118 ]. The reason for the low accumulation of nonessential metals (Cd and Pb) is the lack of need for them in physiological processes in living organisms [ 119 ].…”

“…For the other tissues, the risk of cancer from Cd is 1 per 100,000, and with regular lifetime consumption of fish gonads from Station 4 it is 1 per 10,000, because the TR values for these tissues exceeded 1 × 10 −4 . Long-term exposure to Cd can cause kidney failure, disrupt the gastrointestinal tract, reduce bone mineral density, and cause osteoporosis [ 102 , 104 , 117 ]. It is worth noting that in the areas adjacent to the reservoir, there is a steady increase in oncological diseases among all age groups of the population, and the highest number of cancer cases in the country [ 141 , 142 ].…”

Metals Bioaccumulation in 15 Commonly Consumed Fishes from the Lower Meghna River and Adjacent Areas of Bangladesh and Associated Human Health Hazards

“…Those metals discharged into the aquatic environment [ 9 ] can affect the organisms and ecosystem due to their toxicity, long persistence, and accumulative behavior [ 10 , 11 ], and finally assimilated by human consumers, resulting in health risks. However, due to a poor waste management and disposal strategy, the concern is growing more seriously worldwide, and the intensity is higher in the developing countries [ 12 , 13 , 14 ].…”

Assessment of the concentration, enzymatic activity, and health risks of heavy metals in Tilapia and Pangasius raised for human consumption

“…Although the gills are the primary absorbing organs, the liver, kidney, and muscles can also store a variety of HMs from the environment depending on a series of variables, including the age of the sh, their trophic level, the condition of their habitat, etc. (Sarker et al, 2021). Higher amounts of heavy metals can only be harmful to sh because they alter their metabolism, physiology, and biochemical makeup (Atli and Canli, 2007).…”