Possible health risk assessment for heavy metal concentrations in water, sediment, and fish species and Turkmen pregnant women’s biomonitoring in Miankaleh Peninsula, Iran

• Published in: Environmental science and pollution research international Vol. 29; no. 25; pp. 37187 - 37203
• Main Authors: Shaabani, Zahra, Esmaili-sari, Abbas, Moradi, Ali Mashinchian, Taghavi, Lobat, Farsad, Forough
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.05.2022; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Aquatic Pollution; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Biomarkers; Biomonitoring; Blood; Chromium; Copper; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecotoxicology; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Health; Environmental science; Fingernail; Fish; Fisheries; Hair; Health risks; Heavy metals; Indicator species; Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry; Lead; Liver; Mass spectrometry; Mass spectroscopy; Mercury; Mercury (metal); Metal concentrations; Metals; Muscles; Organs; Pregnancy; Research Article; Risk assessment; Sediments; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water Pollution Control; Iran; Human biomonitoring; Turkmen pregnant women; Miankaleh Peninsula; Risk assessment; Heavy metals
• ISSN: 0944-1344; 1614-7499
• DOI: 10.1007/s11356-021-17894-5

This study investigated the human biomonitoring of heavy metals in the water, sediments, and tissues of mostly consumed fish species using Turkmen pregnant women’s biomarkers in winter 2019, at the Miankaleh Peninsula, north of Iran. Metal concentrations were measured in various fish organs as well as pregnant women’s blood, hair, and nail as biological indicators. For this purpose, a total of 20 water and sediment, 14 fish, and 16 human samples were collected. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) was used to evaluate the concentration of Cr, Co, Cu, As, Hg, and Pb. Results showed metals with the highest concentrations as Cu and Cr in water (93.35 and 80.91 µg/l, respectively), Hg and Pb in sediment (7.40 µg/g for both), Cu and Pb in the liver (27.00 and 18.9 µg/g for C. carpio ; 1414 and 31.7 µg/g for L. auratus ), muscle (10.00 and 18.80 for C. carpio ; 37.20 and 8.27 µg/g for L. auratus ), and skin (26.40 and 9.90 for C. carpio ; 10.80 and 11.74 µg/g for L. auratus ). In addition, Cu, in pregnant women samples, had the highest values at 2.53 mg/l, 8.87, 36.46, and 29.04 µg/g for blood, hair, fingernail, and toenail, respectively. However, Co showed the lowest concentration in all studied samples. Fish liver and fingernail of pregnant women did reveal the highest heavy metal accumulation, whereas fish muscle and blood of pregnant women had the lowest accumulated heavy metals. The concentration of Hg in water, sediment, fish muscle, and women’s blood and hair exceeded the limits suggested by various organizations. Therefore, this study highlighted that heavy metal concentration, in particular Hg, in water, sediments, and fish is a serious risk to the health of local inhabitants who rely on fisheries products and recommended that necessary information should be provided to warn Turkmen pregnant women in consumption of Hg-contaminated fish in this area.