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Metal accumulation in the tissues of grass carps (Ctenopharyngodon idellus) from fresh water around a copper mine in Southeast China

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Abstract

Mining effluents are the main source of metals in the surrounding aquatic environment. The mining district of Purple Mountain has a history of copper mining for more than 30 years, but there is limited investigation of metal bioaccumulation in the aquatic creatures from the Tingjiang river catchment affected by the mining activities. In this study, we collected grass carps (Ctenopharyngodon idellus) from four sites, and analyzed the accumulation of chromium (Cr), nickel (Ni), manganese (Mn), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg), and lead (Pb) in ten tissues (scale, skin, muscle, gill, liver, kidney, fish maw, heart, stomach, and intestine) of the fish samples. Among all tissue samples, the highest concentrations (micrograms per gram wet weight) of Ni (0.263), Cu (69.2), Zn (84.0), As (0.259), Cd (0.640), Hg (0.051), and Pb (0.534) were noted in the liver, gill, and kidney tissues, whereas the highest concentrations of Cr (0.356) and Mn (62.7) were detected in the skin and intestine, respectively. These results gave a better understanding of the variability of metals distribution in different fish tissues. In comparison with the sample sites, metals (especially Mn, Cu, Zn, Ni, and Pb) in liver, gill, kidney, stomach, and intestine showed more inter-site differences than other tissues. The inter-site differences also revealed that site 1 and 2 increased fish uptake of Cu, Zn, Ni, and Pb, which may indicate that the copper mine and urban effluents contributed to high levels of these metals in aquatic environments in site 1 and 2. A potential food safety issue may emerge depending on the mining activities in this region because some metals in a few tissue samples exceeded the guideline values for human consumption of fish.

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Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by Hundred Talent Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) for 2010 on Human Exposure to Environmental Pollutant and Health Effect, National Science Foundation of Fujian Province, China (2010J05037), CAS/SAFEA International Partnership Program for Creative Research Teams (KZCX2-YW-T08) and MOST for Combined Pollution and Ecosystem Health in Urban Agglomeration (2009DFB90120).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Urban Environment and Health, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen, 361021, China

    Feng Liu, Feng Chen, Zhuan-Xi Luo, Heqing Shen, Liangpo Liu & Peng Wu

  2. Key Laboratory for Agro-ecological Processes in Subtropical Regions, Institute of Subtropical Agroecology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha, 410125, China

    Feng Liu

  3. Shenzhen Key Laboratory for Cyclical Economic, Shenzhen Graduate School, Peking University, Shenzhen, 518055, China

    Hong-Gang Ni

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  1. Feng Liu
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  2. Hong-Gang Ni
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  3. Feng Chen
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  4. Zhuan-Xi Luo
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Correspondence to Heqing Shen.

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Liu, F., Ni, HG., Chen, F. et al. Metal accumulation in the tissues of grass carps (Ctenopharyngodon idellus) from fresh water around a copper mine in Southeast China. Environ Monit Assess 184, 4289–4299 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-011-2264-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-011-2264-7

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