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Metal concentrations in water, sediment and three fish species from the Danube River, Serbia: a cause for environmental concern

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Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of metal contamination in water, sediments and three different fish species. All samples were taken from the Danube River in Belgrade Region, a location upstream from Grocka. Concentrations of Cd, Hg and Pb in water samples were not detected, while concentrations of Zn, Fe, Cu and As were in the range of 0.004–0.41 mg L−1. Iron was the most deposited metal in sediment samples (17,530.00 mg kg−1). For the purpose of heavy metal determination in fish tissue, silver carp, common carp and wels catfish were collected. Concentrations of Pb, Cd and As were determined in muscle, digestive tract and liver by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrophotometry (IPC-OES). The highest concentration of Pb was in the digestive tract of all three fish species, while Cd was mostly deposited in the liver. The highest concentration of Hg was in the muscle tissue of wels catfish, and these values are above the maximum residual levels prescribed by the European Union and the maximum allowed concentrations (MACs) for Serbia. Concentration of As was mostly deposited in the liver, but under the MAC.

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Acknowledgments

This paper was supported by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development, Republic of Serbia, via the project “Selected biological hazards to the safety/quality of food of animal origin and control measures from farm to consumer” (31034).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Food Hygiene and Technology, University of Belgrade, Bulevar Oslobodjenja 18, 11000, Belgrade, Serbia

    Jelena Ivanović, Jelena Janjić, Milan Baltić, Marija Bošković, Radmila V. Marković & Nataša Glamočlija

  2. Ministry of Health, Republic of Serbia, Omladinskih Brigada 1, Belgrade, Serbia

    Raša Milanov

Authors
  1. Jelena Ivanović
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  2. Jelena Janjić
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  3. Milan Baltić
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  4. Raša Milanov
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  5. Marija Bošković
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  6. Radmila V. Marković
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  7. Nataša Glamočlija
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jelena Ivanović.

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Responsible editor: Céline Guéguen

Highlights

• Cd, Hg and Pb concentrations in water were not detected.

• Danube sediments had high levels of Fe, Zn and Pb.

• High levels of Hg were found in the muscle tissue of wels catfish from the Danube River.

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Ivanović, J., Janjić, J., Baltić, M. et al. Metal concentrations in water, sediment and three fish species from the Danube River, Serbia: a cause for environmental concern. Environ Sci Pollut Res 23, 17105–17112 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-6875-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-6875-y

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