Levels of Total Mercury and Health Risk Assessment of Consuming Freshwater Stingrays (Chondrichthyes: Potamotrygoninae) of the Brazilian Amazon

Adriano Teixeira de Oliveira (), Paloma de Almeida Rodrigues, Alexandre Mendes Ramos Filho, Maria Fernanda da Silva Gomes, Ariany Rabello da Silva Liebl, Júlia Vianna de Pinho, Paulo Henrique Rocha Aride and Carlos Adam Conte-Junior
Additional contact information
Adriano Teixeira de Oliveira: Animal Morphophysiology Laboratory, Academic Department of Teacher Training (DAEF), Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Amazonas (IFAM), Manaus Centro Campus (CMC), Manaus 69020-120, AM, Brazil
Paloma de Almeida Rodrigues: Center for Food Analysis (NAL), Technological Development Support Laboratory (LADETEC), Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), University City, Rio de Janeiro 21941-598, RJ, Brazil
Alexandre Mendes Ramos Filho: Center for Food Analysis (NAL), Technological Development Support Laboratory (LADETEC), Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), University City, Rio de Janeiro 21941-598, RJ, Brazil
Maria Fernanda da Silva Gomes: Animal Morphophysiology Laboratory, Academic Department of Teacher Training (DAEF), Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Amazonas (IFAM), Manaus Centro Campus (CMC), Manaus 69020-120, AM, Brazil
Ariany Rabello da Silva Liebl: Animal Morphophysiology Laboratory, Academic Department of Teacher Training (DAEF), Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Amazonas (IFAM), Manaus Centro Campus (CMC), Manaus 69020-120, AM, Brazil
Júlia Vianna de Pinho: Center for Food Analysis (NAL), Technological Development Support Laboratory (LADETEC), Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), University City, Rio de Janeiro 21941-598, RJ, Brazil
Paulo Henrique Rocha Aride: Animal Morphophysiology Laboratory, Academic Department of Teacher Training (DAEF), Federal Institute of Education, Science and Technology of Amazonas (IFAM), Manaus Centro Campus (CMC), Manaus 69020-120, AM, Brazil
Carlos Adam Conte-Junior: Center for Food Analysis (NAL), Technological Development Support Laboratory (LADETEC), Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), University City, Rio de Janeiro 21941-598, RJ, Brazil

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 21, 1-12

Abstract: Mercury is an element with potential risk to fish and those who consume it. Thus, this study aimed to determine the levels of total mercury (THg), carry out a health risk assessment related to the consumption of the freshwater stingrays Potamotrygon motoro , and determine the physical and chemical properties of the water where stingrays occur. Stingrays of the species P. motoro were obtained from the Amazon River, and samples of the animals’ musculature were collected to determine THg levels. Risk assessment was conducted using pre-established formulas of estimated monthly intake (EMI), maximum monthly intake rate (IRmm), and hazard quotient (HQ). Three population scenarios were evaluated, considering both sexes and differences between rural and urban areas. There was no relationship between weight and THg concentration nor between total length and THg concentration. Higher EMI values were observed in rural children; for the IRmm, male children had the lowest consumption levels. For the hazard quotient, there was a similarity between the three age groups when comparing the male and female sexes. In addition, the representatives of the rural area always had lower values than the urban area. Freshwater stingrays, like other elasmobranchs, can be crucial animal species because they act as sentinels in studies that assess harmful chemicals like mercury.

Keywords: fish; riverine; elasmobranchs; metals; poisoning (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/21/6990/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/21/6990/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:20:y:2023:i:21:p:6990-:d:1269399

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().