Concentrations of Cd, Cu, Pb, Ni, Zn and Cr
were estimated using inductively coupled plasma-mass
spectrometry in sediment, water, fish and shrimp collected
from the Subarnarekha River. Fish species
Mystus gulio
,
Puntius conchonius
,
Labeo calbasu
,
Labeo rohita
and
Labeo bata
, while the shrimp species
Penaeus indicus
,
were used for the study. The range of Cd, Cu, Pb, Ni, Zn
and Cr in all the samples was found to be 0.004–0.85,
0.75–145.2, 0.03–0.41, 1.25–21.5, 12.4–109.5 and
0.22–11.36 mg kg
-1 fresh, respectively. The concentrations
of metals in the fish and shrimp exceed the limits of
Indian and international standards for food for Cu, Ni, Cd
and Zn in some samples. Higher concentrations of the
metals were observed in the shrimp as compared to fish
samples. The calculated daily intakes of the metals
through the consumption of fish and shrimps ranged from
0.30 to 27.0 % of the corresponding tolerable limits
suggested by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on
Food Additives. The mean target hazard quotient values
for the 6 metals were below 1 for all the samples; however,
the maximum was more than 1 for shrimp Cu and
Cr. The results indicated that the concentration of the
metals in shrimps at some locations was alarming and
pose an appreciable hazard risk on human health. Potential
ecological risk analysis of sediment indicated that
most of the sites posed moderate ecological risk with Cd
posing a considerable risk at all the sites.
