engleski

Assessment of dietary exposure to toxic metals in Croatia

The aim of this study was to measure mass fractions of mercury, arsenic, lead and cadmium in common edible fresh fish and shellfish from various areas of Adriatic Sea. The attempt was also made to estimate intake of these elements through sea food consumption by general population. Samples were either wet digested for mercury and arsenic, or dry ashed for lead and cadmium analysis. Total mercury was measured by cold vapor atomic absorption spectrometry (CV AAS) and total arsenic, lead and cadmium by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ET AAS) with deuterium background correction. For arsenic measurements palladium nitrate was used as matrix modifier. Quality control of the methods was done by analysis of dogfish muscle - certified reference material DORM-2. Mean values obtained for mercury, arsenic, lead and cadmium in collected common edible fish (mackerel, horse mackerel, sardine, anchovy and hake) were 0.215, 3.323, 0.019 and 0.008 mg/kg fresh weight, respectively. The respective mean values in shellfish were 0.158, 5.48, 0.136 and 0.136 mg/kg. The mass fractions of analyzed elements were below acceptable levels for human consumption set by Croatian Ministry of Health, except for total arsenic. An attempt was made to assess intake of examined trace elements through seafood by general population. It was compared with Provisional Tolerable WEEKLY Intake recommended by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives and discussed

mercury; arsenic; lead; cadmium; fish; shellfish

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