Assessment of the Quality and Human Health Risk due to Heavy Metals Concentration in Marine Biota Species

Abstract

Marine ecosystems have been heavily contaminated in recent years by discharges from agricultural, domestic, chemical waste spills, ship emissions, etc. Among various pollutants, metals are considered the most serious ones, because they are not biodegradable and can show toxic effects on living organisms if exceeding certain concentration levels. In the present study, 24 biota species were randomly selected at the Vlora region, Albania and were analyzed for the content of some heavy metals in the edible part of their body. Except for Cd, the concentrations of heavy metals in the edible part of fish species did not exceed the permissible limits proposed by FAO (1983) and WHO (1996) and are suitable for human consumption. The estimated daily intake (EDI) of the selected species was lower than the daily reference intake (DRI) while low values of target hazard quotient (THQ < 1) had shown that the consumption of mussels containing heavy metals would not cause significant health risks to humans. Finally, studies of metal concentrations in coastal areas are relevant and useful for monitoring the health of environmental compartments, for the maintenance of biodiversity, and for assuring the quality of life, mainly for humans.