Ongeri D.M.K., Lalah J.O., Wandiga S.O., Schramm K.-W., Michalke B.
Seasonal variability in cadmium, lead, copper, zinc and iron concentrations in the three major fish species, oreochromis niloticus, lates niloticus and rastrineobola argentea in winam gulf, Lake Victoria: Impact of wash-off into the lake
Department of Chemistry, Maseno University, P.O. Box 333, Maseno, Kenya; Department of Chemical Science and Technology, Kenya Polytechnic University College, P.O. Box 52428, City Square, Nairobi 00200, Kenya; Department of Chemistry, University of Nairobi, P.O. Box 30197, Nairobi 00100, Kenya; Institute of Ecological Chemistry, Helmholtz Zentrum Muenchen, German National Research Centre for Environmental Health, Ingolstaedter Landstrasse 1, Neuherberg 85764, Germany
Ongeri, D.M.K., Department of Chemistry, Maseno University, P.O. Box 333, Maseno, Kenya; Lalah, J.O., Department of Chemical Science and Technology, Kenya Polytechnic University College, P.O. Box 52428, City Square, Nairobi 00200, Kenya; Wandiga, S.O., Department of Chemistry, University of Nairobi, P.O. Box 30197, Nairobi 00100, Kenya; Schramm, K.-W., Institute of Ecological Chemistry, Helmholtz Zentrum Muenchen, German National Research Centre for Environmental Health, Ingolstaedter Landstrasse 1, Neuherberg 85764, Germany; Michalke, B., Institute of Ecological Chemistry, Helmholtz Zentrum Muenchen, German National Research Centre for Environmental Health, Ingolstaedter Landstrasse 1, Neuherberg 85764, Germany
Trace metals Cadmium (Cd), Lead (Pb), Copper (Cu), Zinc (Zn) and Iron (Fe) were analyzed in edible portions of three main finfish species namely Lates niloticus, Oreochromis niloticus and Rastrineobola argentea sampled from various beaches of Winam Gulf, Lake Victoria, Kenya, in order to determine any seasonal and site variations and the results showed significantly (p < 0.05) higher mean concentrations of Cd, Cu, Zn and Fe during the wet season compared to the dry season for all the three species indicating the impact of wash-off into the lake during the rainy periods. The overall mean concentrations of the heavy metals (in μg/g dry weight) in all combined samples ranged from 0.17-0.40 (Cd), 0.47-2.53 (Pb), 2.13-8.74 (Cu), 28.9-409.3 (Zn) and 31.4-208.1 (Fe), respectively. It was found that consumption of Rastrineobola argentea can be a significant source of heavy metals especially Zn, to humans, compared with Lates niloticus and Oreochromis niloticus, if only the muscle parts of the latter two are consumed. © 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.
Dry seasons; Dry weight; Fish species; Human-consumption; Iron concentrations; Lake Victoria; Lates niloticus; Mean concentrations; Oreochromis niloticus; Seasonal variability; Site variation; Trace metal; Wet season; Winam Gulf; Cadmium; Fish; Lakes; Lead; Metals; Pollution; Trace elements; Zinc; Copper; cadmium; copper; heavy metal; iron; zinc; animal; article; chemistry; cichlid; diet; environmental monitoring; fish; human; Kenya; lake; metabolism; muscle; season; statistics; water pollutant; water pollution; Animals; Cadmium; Cichlids; Copper; Diet; Environmental Monitoring; Fishes; Humans; Iron; Kenya; Lakes; Metals, Heavy; Muscles; Seasons; Water Pollutants, Chemical; Water Pollution, Chemical; Zinc; Lates niloticus; Oreochromis niloticus; Rastrineobola argentea