HEAVY METAL CONTENT AND SAFETY EVALUATION OF FISHES NATURE RESERVE IN WUCHENG SECTION OF POYANG LAKE, CHINA

To assess the heavy metal pollution of fishes from nature reserve Wucheng section of Poyang Lake in China, concentrations of Cu, Zn, Pb and Cd in the tissues (e.g., heart, liver, gill and muscle) of six fish species (carp, bighead carp, white semiknife carp, grass carp, black carp and bream) from nature reserve Wucheng section of Poyang Lake were analyzed. The health risk of heavy metal pollution was assessed with Target Hazard Quotient. The results showed that different tissues accumulated diverse metal levels. The highest Cd content was detected in liver, and the highest Cu concentration was found in livers and hearts, and the lowest Pb was observed in liver, Zn level is higher than other three heavy metals in all four tested tissues. The levels of Cu, Zn, Pb and Cd in muscle of all fish species were significantly lower than those of the proposed limits based on domestic and international standards. The THQ analysis indicated that Pb has the highest health risk, whereas Cd shows the least risk. Both THQ and TTHQ values of four metals were less than 1. Therefore, the heavy metal in the fish of nature reserve Wucheng section of Poyang Lake has no potential risk for consumers.