Determination of Lead Concentration in Barbus grypusfrom Arvand River, With Emphasis on the Accumulation and Assessment of Risks

Lead (Pb) is an unnecessary element for human body, so existence of a very limited amount of this metal in the body causes very serious disease. One of the main ways that lead can enter to human body is the consumption of contaminated seafood which consequently cause lead accumulation in tissues. Hence, in this study, the human health risk due to consumption of Barbus grypus in Arvand River, was investigated by measuring the concentration of lead in muscle samples. In this case, a total of 30 fresh fishes were collected from six station in Arvand River (located in Khuzestan province, Iran). Samples of tissue were digested with acid, thus concentration of lead was measured using atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Overall, the results indicated that lead level in the muscle of B. grypus was higher than standard level of international organization such as FAO, WHO, NHMRC, and UK (MAFF). Average lead concentration in the muscle of Barbus grypus was 4.82 μg/g wet weight (16.61 μg/g dry weight). According to calculation of lead concentration and determination of limit value of fish consumption, there is cautions about consumption of B.grypus particularly in pregnant women and children. Accordingly, taking the Arvand river fish species, two times a month is recommended. However, the consumption of the B.grypus cannot cause serious threat to the human, if fish consumption occurs on permitted dosage.