Accumulation behavior and risk assessment of heavy metals and arsenic in tissues of white bream (Parabramis pekinensis) from the Xiang River, southern China

Aquatic environment suffered from serious heavy metal and As pollutions due to rapid industrialization and urbanization in the last decades. In order to evaluate the heavy metal and As contamination in aquatic organism in southern China, the levels of As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb, and Zn in muscle, gill, and liver of white bream (Parabramis pekinensis) collected from Xiang River were analyzed. The statistically significant differences of the analyzed element concentration (wet weight) between tissues were determined through one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA). The liver presented high affinity for accumulation of Cd, Cu, and Zn due to the binding activity of metallothionein proteins. Mn and Pb mainly accumulated in the gill indicated the major uptake route through the gill. Lack of correlation between analyzed element and fish size might imply no or weak biomagnification of the analyzed elements in fish tissues. The potential health risk associated with exposure to heavy metals and As was evaluated. The uncertainty of target hazard quotient was calculated by Monte Carlo simulation. The results indicated that the analyzed element contents in the white bream muscle posed relatively low-chronic toxic risk to consumers.