Metal Levels in Fish from the Savannah River: Potential Hazards to Fish and Other Receptors

• Published in: Environmental research Vol. 89; no. 1; pp. 85 - 97
• Main Authors: Burger, Joanna, Gaines, Karen F., Boring, C.Shane, Stephens, Warren L., Snodgrass, Joel, Dixon, Carline, McMahon, Michael, Shukla, Sheila, Shukla, Tara, Gochfeld, Michael
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier Inc 01-05-2002; Elsevier
• Subjects: Agnatha. Pisces; Amia calva; Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Animals; Applied ecology; Biological and medical sciences; blood lead; Body Weight; children; Ecotoxicology, biological effects of pollution; Effects of pollution and side effects of pesticides on vertebrates; Fishes; Food Chain; Freshwater; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Georgia; learning achievement; Lepomis microlophus; Metals, Heavy - analysis; Metals, Heavy - pharmacokinetics; Micropterus salmoides; Perca flavescens; Risk Assessment; school attainment; Strontium - analysis; Strontium - pharmacokinetics; Tissue Distribution; Water Pollutants - analysis; Water Pollutants - pharmacokinetics; Savannah River; United States; North America; America; Georgia; USA, Savannah R; school attainment; learning achievement; children; blood lead; Cadmium; Arsenic; Interspecific comparison; Micropterus salmoides; Heavy metal; Freshwater environment; Concentration measurement; Strontium; Hypothesis test; Pollutant; Vertebrata; Trophic level; Pisces; Chromium; Lead; Biological accumulation; Copper; Perca flavescens; Manganese
• ISSN: 0013-9351; 1096-0953
• DOI: 10.1006/enrs.2002.4330

Fish are ideal indicators of heavy metal contamination in aquatic systems because they occupy different trophic levels and are different sizes and ages. In this paper, we report concentrations of arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, manganese, strontium88 and mercury in the muscle of 11 species of fish from the Savannah River near the Savannah River Site. We test the hypotheses that there are no locational, species, or trophic-level differences in contaminant levels. There were significant species differences for all metals; higher-trophic-level fish generally had higher levels of arsenic, chromium, and copper. There were relatively few locational differences, and where there were such differences, they were small. The relationships between body weight and contaminant levels were generally positive, except for strontium, where there was a negative correlation for bowfin (Amia cal va), bass (Micropterus salmoides), yellow perch (Perca flavescens), and shellcracker (Lepomis microlophus) and no relationship for the other species. The levels of most metals were similar to, or lower than, those for the United States generally, and the levels of metals in fish from the Savannah River do not appear to pose a health threat to the fish themselves or to higher-order consumers, based on levels known to cause effects.