Study of Heavy Metal Pollution and Bioaccumulation in the Black Sea Living Environment

Abstract

The Black Sea is seriously affected by a large range of pollutants, despite severe laws regarding the protection of sea ecosystems. Heavy metals are among the most important xenobiotics from the environment, presenting also toxicity for humans. The studies upon heavy metals have proven that the sediments have the highest concentrations and they can release metals back to water and this fact represents a risk for the humans and aquatic ecosystem life. The use of aquatic organisms like bioindicators for heavy metal pollution is common in actual studies, the algae and molluscs being the most used indicators. These are biofilter organisms that retain small particles from the water, so that the presence of pollutants in mussels' tissues indicates a contamination of the marine environment. This study provides information upon heavy metals pollution and their bioaccumulation mechanisms in the aquatic organisms living in the Black Sea. Determination of heavy metals from the tissues of mussels from the Black Sea is very important because in the seawater are discharged the effluents with various concentrations of pollutants. , as compared to other regional seas.

Element Contents in Three Commercially Important Edible Mollusks Harvested off the Southwestern Coast of Crimea (Black Sea) and Assessment of Human Health Risks from Their Consumption

“…The increased levels in the Black Sea are likely related to the riverine discharge transporting sediments that can contain large amounts of trace elements. Rivers are believed to be the main source of the heavy metal pollution in the Black Sea [102][103][104]. The waters of the western and northwestern Black Sea are freshened by two major rivers in the region, the Danube and the Dnieper, and increased levels of heavy metals were indeed observed near the Danube mouth [105].…”

Heavy metals ın the medıterranean mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis lamarck, 1819) from sınop coasts (Black Sea, Turkey)

“…The toxicity of heavy metals can vary depending on the dosage, manner of exposure, and the amonut and type of the heavy metal in addition to the nutrition of the relevant living organism, which depend on various factors such as age, sex and genetics (Gökkurt Baki, 2021) [4] . The utilization of aquatic organisms as bioindicators for heavy metal pollution is widespread in current research, with algae and molluscs commonly employed as indicators (Jitar et al, 2013) [5] . These organisms function as biofilter organisms, capable of retaining small particles from the water.…”

“…These organisms function as biofilter organisms, capable of retaining small particles from the water. Consequently, pollutants in mussel tissues indicate contamination in the marine environment (Jitar et al, 2013) [5] . Certain non-essential metals, such as cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), and mercury (Hg), possess high toxicity and can cause severe health issues for humans, even at trace levels.…”

Levels of heavy metals in mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis Lamark, 1819) from the black sea (Sinop, Turkey)

“…Mirinchev et al [15] , executed a study concentrating on the consequences of heavy metal contamination from these rivers within the region. Jitar et al [16] have denoted, "To assess the state of the Black Sea ecosystems, during the last years, many authors studied the heavy metals in the sediments, water, and organisms".…”