Methyl mercury concentrations in seafood collected from Zhoushan Islands, Zhejiang, China, and their potential health risk for the fishing community: Capsule: Methyl mercury in seafood causes potential health risk

Xinwei Yu; Sardar Khan; Anwarzeb Khan; Yuting Tang; Luis M Nunes; Jianbo Yan; Xingqian Ye; Gang Li

doi:10.1016/j.envint.2019.105420

Methyl mercury concentrations in seafood collected from Zhoushan Islands, Zhejiang, China, and their potential health risk for the fishing community: Capsule: Methyl mercury in seafood causes potential health risk

Environ Int. 2020 Apr:137:105420. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2019.105420. Epub 2020 Feb 18.

Authors

Xinwei Yu¹, Sardar Khan², Anwarzeb Khan³, Yuting Tang⁴, Luis M Nunes⁵, Jianbo Yan⁶, Xingqian Ye⁷, Gang Li⁸

Affiliations

¹ College of Biosystems Engineering and Food Science, Zhejiang University, Fuli Institute of Food Science, Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Agro-Food Processing, Zhejiang R & D Center for Food Technology and Equipment, Hangzhou 310058, China; Key Laboratory of Health Risk Factors for Seafood of Zhejiang Province, Zhoushan Municipal Center For Disease Control and Prevention, Zhoushan 316021, China.
² CAS Key Laboratory of Urban Environment and Health, Fujian Key Laboratory of Watershed Ecology, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China; Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Urban Environmental Processes and Pollution Control, Ningbo Urban Environment Observation and Research Station, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo 315800, China; Department of Environmental Science, University of Peshawar, Peshawar 25120, Pakistan. Electronic address: sardar.khan2008@yahoo.com.
³ Department of Environmental Science, University of Peshawar, Peshawar 25120, Pakistan; Department of Environmental and Conservation Sciences, University of Swat, Swat 19130, Pakistan.
⁴ School of Geographical Sciences, Faculty of Science and Engineering, The University of Nottingham, Ningbo 315100, China.
⁵ CAS Key Laboratory of Urban Environment and Health, Fujian Key Laboratory of Watershed Ecology, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China; Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Urban Environmental Processes and Pollution Control, Ningbo Urban Environment Observation and Research Station, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo 315800, China; Faculty of Sciences and Technology, Civil Engineering Research and Innovation for Sustainability Center, University of Algarve, Faro, Portugal.
⁶ Key Laboratory of Health Risk Factors for Seafood of Zhejiang Province, Zhoushan Municipal Center For Disease Control and Prevention, Zhoushan 316021, China.
⁷ College of Biosystems Engineering and Food Science, Zhejiang University, Fuli Institute of Food Science, Zhejiang Key Laboratory for Agro-Food Processing, Zhejiang R & D Center for Food Technology and Equipment, Hangzhou 310058, China. Electronic address: psu@zju.edu.cn.
⁸ CAS Key Laboratory of Urban Environment and Health, Fujian Key Laboratory of Watershed Ecology, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen 361021, China; Zhejiang Key Laboratory of Urban Environmental Processes and Pollution Control, Ningbo Urban Environment Observation and Research Station, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Ningbo 315800, China. Electronic address: gli@iue.ac.cn.

PMID: 32070806
DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2019.105420

Abstract

Seafood is an important exposure route for mercury, especially methyl mercury (MeHg). Therefore, we quantified MeHg concentrations in 69 species of seafood including fish, crustaceans and mollusks collected from Zhoushan Islands, China. MeHg concentrations ranged from <0.0020-0.2098 µg/g and did not exceed the threshold limit of 1 µg/g in all sampled species, However, MeHg concentrations significantly differed among fish species (0.0085-0.2098 mg kg^-1), crustaceans (<0.002-0.0221 mg kg^-1) and mollusks (<0.002-0.1389 mg kg^-1). The trophic magnification factor (TMF) was determined on the basis of the trophic level (TL). The TL values for fish, crustaceans and mollusks were above 3 when the TMF values were >1. The daily dietary intake and hazard quotient for MeHg were calculated to estimate exposure and health risk through seafood consumption by local inhabitants. The calculated HQ was lower than 1, thus indicating that the exposure was below the risk threshold of related chronic diseases. However, higher MeHg concentrations in fish species such as Scoliodon sorrakowah and Auxis thazard are concerning and may pose health risk through continuous consumption by local inhabitants.

Keywords: Fish; Hazard quotient; Methyl mercury; Seafood.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Animals
China
Fishes
Food Contamination*
Islands
Mercury*
Methylmercury Compounds* / analysis
Risk Assessment
Seafood*

Substances

Methylmercury Compounds
Mercury