Sharptooth catfish shows its metal: A case study of metal contamination at two impoundments in the Olifants River, Limpopo river system, South Africa

Jooste, Antoinette; Marr, Sean M.; Addo‐Bediako, Abraham; Luus‐Powell, Wilmien J.

doi:10.1016/j.ecoenv.2014.10.033

Cited by 44 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…Pb can also affect the cardiovascular system and kidneys (ATSDR 2007;Jooste et al 2015). Lung and prostate cancers (Fraser et al 2013;Nawrot et al 2006;Vinceti et al 2007), in addition to kidney and bone diseases (Alfvén et al 2002;Fraser et al 2013;Jarup & Akesson 2009), were reported to be linked to Cd exposure.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

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Levels of zinc, copper, cadmium, and lead in fruits and vegetables grown and consumed in Aseer Region, Saudi Arabia

Oteef

Fawy

Abd-Rabboh

et al. 2015

Environ Monit Assess

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The levels of four metals (Zn, Cu, Cd, and Pb) were evaluated in two fruit types (apricot and fig), a fruity vegetable (tomato), and three leafy vegetables (arugula, spinach, and lettuce) that are commonly grown and consumed in Aseer Region, Saudi Arabia. Flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry was employed for quantification. The quality of results was checked by a certified reference material (NIST SRM 1570a). Good recovery values in the range of 87-104% were achieved. Metals were quantified in washed and unwashed samples to evaluate the effect of washing. Statistically, no significant difference was noticed (p>0.05), except for Zn in arugula and Cu in apricot and spinach. The levels of metals found in the analyzed fruits and vegetables were in their normal ranges in crops and not posing any serious risks to the consumers in Aseer Region. The toxic elements Pb and Cd were well below the maximum levels set in the Saudi and international food standards. Zn and Cu levels were comparable to the ranges reported in worldwide previous studies.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…Regarding toxic metals, it has been reported that Pb, even at low levels, causes harms in the hematological and neurological systems (Jooste et al 2015;USEPA 2004). Pb can also affect the cardiovascular system and kidneys (ATSDR 2007;Jooste et al 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Levels of zinc, copper, cadmium, and lead in fruits and vegetables grown and consumed in Aseer Region, Saudi Arabia

Oteef

Fawy

Abd-Rabboh

et al. 2015

Environ Monit Assess

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“…Studies by Genthe et al (2013) and Jooste et al (2015) also concur that the Olifants River is one of the most polluted rivers in Southern Africa as a consequence of anthropogenic stressors which include coal mining, coal-fired power generation, chemical manufacturers, chrome and steel smelters, and agriculture and sewage effluents. A study by CSIR (2012) to assess the risk of water pollution in the Upper Olifants River with reference to aquatic ecosystem health and human health concluded that BPollutants from urban-based anthropogenic activities have had significant adverse impacts on the aquatic health of the Olifants River system, causing widespread eutrophication, localised toxic water quality and increased the potential for bioaccumulation of pollutants through the food chain^.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 89%

“…Some studies have shown that communities consuming fish from impoundments in the Olifants River system Jooste et al 2014) faced health risks due to metal bioaccumulation in fish muscle. A human health risk assessment by Jooste et al (2015) revealed that consumption of the sharptooth catfish Clarias gariepinus harvested in Olifants River placed a 70-kg adult consuming a weekly 150-g fish meal at a serious health risk owing to bioaccumulation of lead, antimony, chromium and cobalt whose concentrations in muscle tissue of Clarias gariepinus exceeded international levels for safe consumption. Antimony is a suspected human carcinogen (ATSDR 1992) while chromium is a recognised human carcinogen associated with respiratory, gastrointestinal, haematological and reproductive effects (ATSDR 2008).…”

Section: Toxinsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Observations were that the Nile crocodile (Crocodilus niloticus) mortalities tended to coincide with fish die-offs, and according to Botha (2006), histopathological examinations attributed crocodile deaths to the consumption of rancid fish after a fish die-off, resulting in fatal pansteatitis. While a bigger percentage of the metal pollution in Olifants River has been attributed to acid mine drainage (AMD) (Driescher 2008), studies point to the fact that domestic sewage is also a significant contributing factor to the water quality impairment in the Olifants (CSIR 2010;Genthe et al 2013;Jooste et al 2015) resulting in an unusual concoction of pollutants which, according to CSIR (2012), caused an increase in algal blooms of Microcystis aeruginosa and Ceratium hirundinella and several large fish kills up to 14 t. Oberholster et al (2010) also report that blooms of the toxic cyanobacterium M. aeruginosa as a result of nutrient enrichment from sewage and agricultural runoff in Lake Loskop located on the Olifants River are thought to be responsible for fish kills reported in 2010. Eutrophication is generally indicated by the accumulation of toxic metabolic products like hydrogen sulphide (especially in deep waters), discolouration of water, deterioration in the taste of water and depletion of dissolved oxygen (CSIR 2010).…”

Section: Vertebratesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Urban effluent discharges as causes of public and environmental health concerns in South Africa’s aquatic milieu

Sibanda

Selvarajan

Tekere

2015

Environ Sci Pollut Res

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The water quality in South Africa's river systems is rapidly deteriorating as a consequence of increased discharge of wastewater effluents. The natural ability of rivers and reservoirs to trap toxic chemicals and nutrients in their sediments enables these systems to accumulate contaminants, altering the natural balance in environmental water quality, thereby raising a plethora of public and environmental health concerns. Impaired water quality has been linked to an array of problems in South Africa including massive fish mortalities, altered habitat template leading to the thinning of riverine macroinvertebrate diversity, shifts in microbial community structures with drastic ecological consequences and evolvement of antibiotic resistance genes that, under natural conditions, can be transferred to waterborne pathogens. Urban wastewater discharge has also been implicated in increased bioaccumulation of metals in edible plant parts, elevated concentrations of endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs), which are blamed for reduced fertility and increased cancer risk, excessive growth of toxic cyanobacteria and an increase in concentrations of pathogenic microorganisms which constitute a potential health threat to humans. However, despite the ecotoxicological hazards posed by wastewater effluents, ecotoxicological studies are currently underutilised in South African aquatic ecosystem assessments, and where they have been done, the observation is that ecotoxicological studies are mostly experimental and restricted to small study areas. More research is still needed to fully assess especially the ecotoxicological consequences of surface water pollution by urban wastewater effluents in South Africa. A review of the effects of urban effluent discharges that include domestic effluent mixed with industrial effluent and/or urban stormwater runoff is hereby presented.

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Heavy metals in marine fish meat and consumer health: a review

et al. 2015

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The numerous health benefits provided by fish consumption may be compromised by the presence of toxic metals and metalloids such as lead, cadmium, arsenic and mercury, which can have harmful effects on the human body if consumed in toxic quantities. The monitoring of metal concentrations in fish meat is therefore important to ensure compliance with food safety regulations and consequent consumer protection. The toxicity of these metals may be dependent on their chemical forms, which requires metal speciation processes for direct measurement of toxic metal species or the identification of prediction models in order to determine toxic metal forms from measured total metal concentrations. This review addresses various shortcomings in current knowledge and research on the accumulation of metal contaminants in commercially consumed marine fish globally and particularly in South Africa, affecting both the fishing industry as well as fish consumers.

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Sharptooth catfish shows its metal: A case study of metal contamination at two impoundments in the Olifants River, Limpopo river system, South Africa

Cited by 44 publications

References 35 publications

Levels of zinc, copper, cadmium, and lead in fruits and vegetables grown and consumed in Aseer Region, Saudi Arabia

Levels of zinc, copper, cadmium, and lead in fruits and vegetables grown and consumed in Aseer Region, Saudi Arabia

Urban effluent discharges as causes of public and environmental health concerns in South Africa’s aquatic milieu

Heavy metals in marine fish meat and consumer health: a review

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