Health Risk From Consumption Of Fish And Seafood Contaminated With Pb, Cd, Hg, And As In Women From Bahia De Kino, Sonora, Mexico

Authors

  • Alejandro Monserrat García-Alegría, Trinidad Quizán-Plata, Karla Denisse Murillo-Castillo, Martín Jara-Marini, Kareen Krizzan Encinas-Soto, Guadalupe Dórame-Carreño, María José Baca-Torres Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.64252/j6npsj64

Keywords:

Health risk, Fish and shellfish, Heavy metals, Bahia de Kino.

Abstract

Consumption of marine products contaminated with heavy metals increases the risk to human health, especially in fishing communities. The objective was to evaluate the potential health risk associated with the consumption of fish and shellfish contaminated with Pb, Cd, Hg, and As among women from Bahia de Kino, Sonora, Mexico. Samples of fish and shellfish were collected, as well as blood samples from 40 women living in the community. The concentration of metals was determined by atomic absorption spectroscopy. The risk to participants health from consuming the marine species studied was calculated using the Hazard Quotient (HQ) equation. The highest levels of Pb, Cd, Hg, and As were found in white clam (31.07 mg/kg), pen shell (2.52 mg/kg), Pacific sharpnose shark (0.67 mg/kg) and pink-mouthed murex (0.71 mg/kg), respectively. The relationship in order of concentration in the marine species evaluated followed the trend of Pb > Cd > Hg > As. In blood serum, the average Pb was 2611.40 ± 5.28 µg/dL, Cd 11.38 ± 0.08 µg/dL, Hg 70.2 ± 0.28 µg/dL, and As 23.30 ± 0.91 ug/dL, which are within the range of risk levels. A potential risk to the health of the participants was found due to the consumption of white clam, pen shell, Pacific sharpnose shark, and pink-mouthed murex based on the HQ values of Pb (4.30), Cd (1.22), Hg (1.08), and As (1.15), respectively. More than 50% of the marine species studied showed high concentrations of at least one of the heavy metals analyzed. There is a potential health risk to the women who participated in this study. Additionally, it is necessary to work on the development of mathematical models that incorporate the concentration of heavy metals in blood serum, whole blood, or other tissues to provide greater certainty in assessing the potential risk of consuming contaminated foods.

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Published

2025-07-02

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Health Risk From Consumption Of Fish And Seafood Contaminated With Pb, Cd, Hg, And As In Women From Bahia De Kino, Sonora, Mexico . (2025). International Journal of Environmental Sciences, 1957-1969. https://doi.org/10.64252/j6npsj64