Heavy metal hazard in mussels

Abstract

Due to their function as biofiltrators species of shellfish are also affected by the worldwide contamination of the environment with heavy metal pollutants. In order to study the specific contamination status of Bosporus waters, we have taken individuals of Mytillus galloprovincialis (Lamarck 1819) as samples from the local market and analyzed them with Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (AAS) for mercury, lead and cadmium. In some cases quantified values in cadmium approximated the contamination grade. Nevertheless, the results remained far below German (EU) regulatory limits. The necessity of enhanced systematic measurements for monitoring heavy metals in shellfish from Turkish waters thus becomes evident.