Metals and metalloid in gold mine pit lakes and fish intake risk assessment, Burkina Faso

Arsenic in the top predators sailfish (Istiophorus platypterus) and dolphinfish (Coryphaena hippurus) off the southeastern Gulf of California

Distribution of arsenic (As) in tissues and gonads of the Indo-Pacific sailfish Istiophorus platypterus and the dolphinfish Coryphaena hippurus from the SE Gulf of California was evaluated. The bioaccumulation patterns of As were the same in the two species. In I. platypterus, As levels (mg kg^-1, wet weight) were gonads (7.4 ± 1.1) > liver (3.1 ± 0.1) > kidney (2.7 ± 0.1) > muscle (1.6 ± 0.1); in C. hippurus, As (mg kg^-1) levels were gonads (4.3 ± 0.6) > liver (3.2 ± 0.2) > kidney (2.3 ± 0.1) > muscle (1.2 ± 0.1). Differences in As distribution could be attributed to the biological functions of tissues. The hypothesis was confirmed that biomagnification was evidenced by the fact that As levels were lower in prey species than in predators. Intake of muscle from either fish did not represent a risk to humans if recommended portions a week are not exceeded, adults as much as 1802.4 g and 2454.1 g and children 257.5 and 350.6 g, for sailfish and dolphinfish, respectively. In addition, the likelihood of developing cancer due to consumption of edible tissues from either of these top predators was in the acceptable range (6.4 × 10^-5 to 27.3 × 10^-6 for a population that consumes 50 g of muscle in a week) but if a conservative combined slope factor is used the probabilities to develop bladder and lung cancer increments from 1.1 × 10^-3 to 9.1 × 10^-5.

Ecological Risk Due to Heavy Metal Contamination in Sediment and Water of Natural Wetlands with Tourist Influence in the Central Region of Peru

In this study, the quality of sediment and surface water in two natural wetlands, Paca and Tragadero, in the central region of Peru was evaluated using pollution indices, including the geoaccumulation index, pollutant load index, modified pollution degree, potential ecological risk index, and site rank index, for four heavy metals. Principal component analysis was used to identify potential metal contaminant sources. The determination of Fe, Zn, Pb, and As was performed by flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry. The average concentrations of metals in the sediments of both lagoons decreased in the order Fe > Zn > Pb > As. The analysis of the contamination indices determined that As and Pb are the elements that contribute the most to environmental degradation in both wetlands. There is a strong correlation between the values of potential ecological risk and the modified degree of contamination, revealing that the Paca wetland has a moderate degree of contamination and potential ecological risk, while Tragadero presents a high degree of contamination and considerable potential ecological risk. The application of the site rank index showed that more than 50% of the sampling sites have between high and severe contamination. The principal component analysis presented 79.2% of the total variance. Finally, the results of this study are essential in order to carry out preventive actions for environmental protection in these lake ecosystems of great importance for many activities, such as bird watching.