Lead accumulation in fish oreochromis niloticus and human health risk assessment for consumers

Abstract

Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) is very popular in the daily meals of many families in Vietnam. However, lead accumulation in this type of fish has not been taken specifically. Results showed that the nile tilapia in several lakes in the Hue city contented high levels of Pb content exceeding the permitted levels issued by the Ministry of Health. Therefore, consuming them may not be safe. The BSAF bioaccumulative coefficient of Pb was low and there was a strong correlation between Pb contents in sediment and in the flesh of the fish. The risk quotient (RQ) higher than 1 indicated that consuming fish exploited from these areas may endanger users’ health.