Health Risk Assessment of Mercury Exposure by Consuming Fish from Erhjin River, Taiwan.

• Main Authors: Chi-Lin Liu, 呂其霖
• Other Authors: 洪慶宜
• Format: Others
• Language: zh-TW
• Published: 2011
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/46456122863644127589

碩士 === 長榮大學 === 職業安全與衛生學系碩士班 === 99 === The recent improvements of water quality and biodiversity have attracted angling and commercial crabbing activities at the estuary region of the Erhjin River. Being one of the priority cleanup rivers in Taiwan, the safety to consume the fish catching from the river has being concerned. The present study assessed the mercury contents of a dominated water column species, Western Pacific gizzard shad (Nematalosa come), and a dominated benthic species, spotted catfish (Arius maculatus), collected bimonthly by 6 sampling trips from June, 2008 to May, 2009 at 5 locations in the Erhjin River estuary. The health risks posed to people who consumed these two species were also estimated. The result showed that the muscle mercury contents of soptted catfish (0.140±0.057 mg/kg w.w.), the beathic species, was significantly higher than those of gizzard shad (0.058±0.018 mg/kg w.w.), the water column sepcies (P=0.000). Sampling time significantly affected (P=0.001), but not the sampling locations (P=0.058), the muscle mercury contents of the fishes. The mercury concentrations of livers were significantly higher than those of muscles for both species (P=0.002 and 0.000 for Western Pacific gizzard shad and spotted catfish, respectively). The results of health risk assessment based on the national average of fish consumption per capita showed that the average target hazard quotients (THQ) were 0.55 and 1.34 for gizzard shad and spotted catfish, respectively. The probabilities of causing hazard (THQ>1) estimated by Monte Carlo Simulation due to the consumption of gizzard shad and spotted catfish were 0% and 90%, respectively. The results of health risk assessment based on the survey of fish consumption behavior of local anglers showed that the average target hazard quotients (THQ) were 0.81 and 3.00 for Western Pacific gizzard shad and spotted catfish, respectively. The probabilities of causing hazard (THQ>1) due to the consumption of Western Pacific gizzard shad and spotted catfish were 25% and 100%, respectively. The study suggested the consumption of fishes from the Erhjin River poses health hazard and fishing advisory with risk warning should be issued for the river.