TY - JOUR
T1 - Human Health Risk from Metals in Fish from Saudi Arabia: Consumption Patterns for Some Species Exceed Allowable Limits
AU - Burger, Joanna
AU - Gochfeld, Michael
AU - Mannalamkunnath Alikunhi, Nabeel
AU - Al-Jahdali, Haitham
AU - Al-Jebreen, Dalal Hamad
AU - Al-Suwailem, Abdulaziz M.
AU - Aziz, Mohammed A M
AU - Batang, Zenon B.
N1 - KAUST Repository Item: Exported on 2020-10-01
Acknowledged KAUST grant number(s): KAUST/MoA 228211
Acknowledgements: This research was funded by the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) to KAUST (KAUST/MoA 228211), with additional funds to Joanna Burger and Michael Gochfeld from EOHSI, NIEHS (P30ES005022), and Rutgers University. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors, and do not represent the funding agencies.
PY - 2014/10/6
Y1 - 2014/10/6
N2 - ABSTRACT: Fish are a healthful source of protein, but contaminants in some fish pose a risk. While there are multiple risk assessments from Europe and North America, there are far fewer for other parts of the world. We examined the risks from mercury, arsenic, lead, and other metals in fish consumed by people in Jeddah area, Saudi Arabia, using site-specific data on consumption patterns and metal levels in fish. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Hazard Quotient (HQ) and cumulative Hazard Index (HI) for non-cancer endpoints and Carcinogenic Index for cancer were used to determine the health risk based on fish consumption rates. Of the 13 fish species examined, HQ was greater than 1 (indicating elevated risk) in two species for arsenic, and seven species for methylmercury. The cumulative HI for all metals was above 1 for all but three species of fish at the mean consumption rates. Generally, fish species with HI above 1 for one sampling location, had HI above 1 for all sampling locations. The implications of these findings are discussed in the light of strategies for reducing risk from fish consumption while encouraging dietary intakes of fish with low mercury and arsenic levels.
AB - ABSTRACT: Fish are a healthful source of protein, but contaminants in some fish pose a risk. While there are multiple risk assessments from Europe and North America, there are far fewer for other parts of the world. We examined the risks from mercury, arsenic, lead, and other metals in fish consumed by people in Jeddah area, Saudi Arabia, using site-specific data on consumption patterns and metal levels in fish. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Hazard Quotient (HQ) and cumulative Hazard Index (HI) for non-cancer endpoints and Carcinogenic Index for cancer were used to determine the health risk based on fish consumption rates. Of the 13 fish species examined, HQ was greater than 1 (indicating elevated risk) in two species for arsenic, and seven species for methylmercury. The cumulative HI for all metals was above 1 for all but three species of fish at the mean consumption rates. Generally, fish species with HI above 1 for one sampling location, had HI above 1 for all sampling locations. The implications of these findings are discussed in the light of strategies for reducing risk from fish consumption while encouraging dietary intakes of fish with low mercury and arsenic levels.
UR - http://hdl.handle.net/10754/563790
UR - http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/10807039.2014.934585
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84911007455&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/10807039.2014.934585
DO - 10.1080/10807039.2014.934585
M3 - Article
SN - 1080-7039
VL - 21
SP - 799
EP - 827
JO - Human and Ecological Risk Assessment: An International Journal
JF - Human and Ecological Risk Assessment: An International Journal
IS - 3
ER -
