Metals bioaccumulation in two edible bivalves and health risk assessment

Our aim was to quantify the bioaccumulation of 13 metals in two edible bivalves (Ruditapes decussatus and Paphia undulata) in Lake Timsah, Egypt. A potential human health risk assessment was conducted to evaluate the hazards from bivalve consumption. Fe, Al, Zn, and Sr had the highest concentrations in the bivalve samples. The levels of Cd were much lower than the maximum permissible level, while Pb concentrations in the two bivalves were nearly two times the permissible level. The extent of bioaccumulation factor was site- and species-specific. For low and high bivalve-consuming groups, the estimated daily intake of Pb and Cd ranged from 0.01 to 0.76 μg/kg/day. For low and high bivalve-consuming groups, hazard quotients (HQs) for metals were found to be less than 1 for both bivalve species, except for Co in the high-consuming group. In conclusion, even though there was no apparent risk to bivalve consumers from being exposed to single metals, there is a risk from being exposed to the 13 studied metals together, especially for high bivalve-consuming groups such as fishermen.