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Possible human health risk of some heavy metals from consumption of tilapia fish from Lake Mariut, Egypt

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Abstract

Lake Mariut Main Basin (MB) is not only one of the three basins composing Lake Mariut (LM) but is also the main source of the popular tilapia fish to Alexandrian people. Unfortunately, this basin was consistently for about 50 successive years receiving a continuous discharge of agricultural, sewage, and industrial effluents. This has led to contamination of the flesh of its tilapia fish living there particularly with some toxic heavy metals like Cd and Pb. Lately, in 2010, a rehabilitation program was adopted and carried out to save this vital MB from such intensive pollution. This had been achieved by diverting all those polluting sources. The present work is made after elapsing about 7 years from the diversion process date, to assess and evaluate the levels of those two metals (in addition to the other four one’s Fe, Cu, Cr, and Zn) in the edible flesh part besides the liver and gills of this fish (Nile tilapia spec., Oreochromis niloticus), and in ambient water of this restored basin to measure the efficiency of the rehabilitation program on quality of endogenous fish. A simultaneous parallel sampling program was also commenced for the other two basins of LM. The obtained results revealed that the concentration level of the studied metals in each of the muscles of the fish and the ambient water of the restored MB becomes now not only almost alike the metal levels of the corresponding compartments of the other two basins of LM, but also they became at concentration levels lay below those of their counterpart permissible limits in fish and water recommended by national and international standards. Health risk assessment indices: bioaccumulation factor (BAF), metal pollution index (MPI), estimated daily intake (EDI), hazardous index (HI), and relative risk (RR) for the present case were estimated, assessed, and subsequently evaluated. All are referring to a fact that MB is currently in good environmental condition and producing safe fish for human consumption.

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Data availability

Some of the data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article and its supplementary files. The other datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Abbreviations

LMBs:

Lake Mariut Basins

MB:

Main Basin

SWB:

South-West Basin

NWB:

North-West Basin

BCFs:

bioconcentration factors

MPI:

metal pollution index

RfD:

reference oral dose

PTDI:

provisional tolerable daily intake

RR:

relative risk

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Acknowledgments

The authors gratefully acknowledge Dr. Salma Mahmoud, lecturer of Fish Biology, Oceanography Department, Faculty of Science, Alexandria University, for her significant assistant in the dissection of fish samples. A special appreciation to late Mr. Abdel-moneim Shaaban for his continued encouragement and exceptional support to fulfill this work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Oceanography Department, Faculty of Science, Alexandria University, Moharm Bey, P.O. Box 21511, Alexandria, Egypt

    Nashwa A. Shaaban, Osman A. El-Rayis & Marwa S. Aboeleneen

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  1. Nashwa A. Shaaban
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  2. Osman A. El-Rayis
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  3. Marwa S. Aboeleneen
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Contributions

Dr. Nashwa A. Shaaban and Prof. Osman A. El-Rayis contributed to the study conception and design. The water and fish sampling and chemical analysis were performed by Dr. Nashwa A. Shaaban and Ms. Marwa S. Aboeleneen. Materials preparation, data collection, and statistical analysis were performed by Dr. Nashwa Shaaban. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Nashwa A. Shaaban. The submitted version of the manuscript was reviewed and commented on by Dr. Nashwa A. Shaaban and Prof. Osman A. El-Rayis. All authors read and approved the submitted version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Nashwa A. Shaaban.

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Highlights

- Six metals were measured in water and Nile tilapia fish organs caught from Lake Mariut basins.

- Metals content in fish organs and water were below the corresponding permissible limits.

- Tilapia fish from Lake Mariut basins are safe for human consumption.

- The MB becomes now in a better environmental condition and is producing safe fish.

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Shaaban, N.A., El-Rayis, O.A. & Aboeleneen, M.S. Possible human health risk of some heavy metals from consumption of tilapia fish from Lake Mariut, Egypt. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28, 19742–19754 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-12121-z

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