Heavy Metal Concentrations in Food Chain of Lake Velenjsko jezero, Slovenia: An Artificial Lake from Mining

• Published in: Archives of environmental contamination and toxicology Vol. 58; no. 4; pp. 998 - 1007
• Main Authors: Mazej, Zdenka, Al Sayegh-Petkovšek, Samar, Pokorny, Boštjan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York New York : Springer-Verlag 01.05.2010; Springer-Verlag; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Animal tissues; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Animals; Applied ecology; Aquatic ecosystems; Aquatic plants; Artificial lakes; Bioaccumulation; Biological and medical sciences; Cadmium; Coal Mining; Contamination; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecosystems; Ecotoxicology; Ecotoxicology, biological effects of pollution; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Health; Environmental monitoring; Environmental Monitoring - methods; Fish; Fishes - growth & development; Fishes - metabolism; Food Chain; Food chains; Food contamination & poisoning; Food Contamination - analysis; Fresh Water - analysis; Fresh water environment; Freshwater; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gills - chemistry; Heavy metals; Lakes; Lead; Lead (metal); Legislation; Lipids; Liver; Liver - chemistry; Magnoliopsida - chemistry; Mercury; Metal concentrations; Metals; Metals, Heavy - analysis; Metals, Heavy - pharmacokinetics; Mining industry; Monitoring/Environmental Analysis; Muscles; Muscles - chemistry; Organisms; Plankton; Plankton - chemistry; Pollution; Power plants; Sediment transport; Sediments; Slovenia; Soil Science & Conservation; Studies; Toxicity; Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis; Water Pollutants, Chemical - pharmacokinetics; Water pollution; Europe; Slovenia; Heavy Metal; Fish Tissue; Fish Muscle; Macrophyte; Fish Liver; Cadmium; Ecotoxicology; Toxicity; Trophic relation; Zinc; Heavy metal; Mining; Concentration measurement; Freshwater environment; Aquatic environment; Trophic chain; Pollutant; Artificial lake; Lead; Environment; Water pollution; Mining industry; Mercury
• ISSN: 0090-4341; 1432-0703
• DOI: 10.1007/s00244-009-9417-5

The concentration of metals (Pb, Cd, Zn, Hg) in different ecosystem components (lake water, sediment, plankton, macrophytes, and fish tissues) has been determined in Velenjsko jezero, an artificial lake resulting from mining activity. The risk to humans from consuming fish has been evaluated from the heavy metal load of fish muscle tissue. Heavy metals are transferred through the food chain at different levels, and Hg is found to be the element of the highest ecotoxicological concern. Although both sediment and plankton contain relatively low concentrations of Hg, this element accumulates in high levels in fish, especially in the benthivorous species Abramis brama danubii and predator species Perca fluviatilis. Moreover, Hg appears to be very mobile in the fish organism. Whereas the other metals remained mostly in liver (Cd) or gills (Zn, Pb), levels of Hg in fish muscle and liver were the same and markedly higher than in gills. However, in muscle, the average concentrations of each metal were below their maximum limits, determined either by Slovenian legislation or by the Food and Agriculture Organization.