Health risk assessment of some heavy metals detected in edible fishes of Gorgan Bay, Caspian Sea (Iran), for human

Just recently, heavy metals have been dramatically detected in aquatic animals, especially in fishes; hence, documented method to assess their health risks for humans who eat these contaminated fishes could be helpful. For the sake of this aim, the health risk assessment of four heavy metals including arsenic, cadmium, lead, and copper in three main edible fishes caught from Gorgan bay was studied. Mullet, roach, and common carp have been caught randomly in winter and spring of 2021 from three different fishing sites of Gorgan bay, including Miankaleh wetland, estuary of Qaresu River, and mouth of Chapaghli canal. Heavy metal measurement has been done with MOOPAM method, and risk assessment of fish consumption was assessed by estimated daily (EDI) and weekly intakes (EWI), target hazard quotient (THQ), hazard index (HI), and target cancer risk (TCR) indices. In this study, estimated daily intake (EDI) was much lower than the tolerable daily intake. Although TCR of cadmium within all fishes and arsenic in two fishes were more than acceptable value, THQ and HI values were less than one, and TCR of lead as well as copper was lower than the critical values, which suggests heavy metals of the Gorgan bay have no serious risks to consumer health.