Determination of chemical contaminants in marine fish species from the coast of Myanmar

Abstract

Fish represents an important source of food in Myanmar. Occasionally, fish can be a major route for contaminants that may constitute a health risk to consumers. This study reports the levels of arsenic, mercury, lead, and cadmium in 40 marine fish species from the coast of Myanmar and assesses the potential exposure and health risk of fish consumption. The concentrations of heavy metals (mercury, lead, and cadmium) and the metalloid arsenic were analysed by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectroscopy in muscle tissue or whole fish. The contents of mercury and lead did not exceed the EU maximum levels for any marine fish species sampled. The cadmium concentration exceeded the EU maximum levels in 11 out of 34 small marine fish species (whole fish ≤ 25 cm). None of the large species (fillets) investigated exceeded the EU maximum levels for cadmium. However, the consumer exposure from estimated daily consumption was low for adults and children, and the health assessment did not pose any risk associated with consumption. The average metal concentrations decreased in the following order, arsenic (2.31 mg/kg) > cadmium (0.15 mg/kg) > mercury (0.03 mg/kg) > lead (0.02 mg/kg) in whole fish and whole fish without head, tail, and viscera (whole fish-WHTV) tissue in the small fish species and arsenic (1.62 mg/kg) > mercury (0.07 mg/kg) > cadmium (0.01 mg/kg) > lead (0.01 mg/kg) in fillet tissue from the large fish species. The concentrations of arsenic and lead metals in the whole fish-WHTV sampled were higher than the whole fish. The mercury content in the fillet tissues of the different large fish species was greater than the small whole fish. The levels of cadmium were larger in the whole fish tissues than the whole fish-WHTV sampled. This study has reported the concentration of arsenic, mercury, lead, and cadmium in 40 species from the coast of Myanmar. It also found that, at the estimated consumption rates, the exposure to mercury and cadmium from the consumption of marine fish species in Myanmar presents no health risks to adults or children.