Possible Influence of Natural Events on Heavy Metals Exposure from Shellfish Consumption: a Case Study in the North-East of Italy

Overview

Journal Front Public Health

Specialty Public Health

Date 2015 Feb 21

PMID 25699249

Citations 6

Authors

Carmen Losasso

Laura Bille

Ilaria Patuzzi

Monica Lorenzetto

Giovanni Binato

Manuela Dalla Pozza

Nicola Ferre

Antonia Ricci

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

The objective of this study was the estimation of the exposure over time to heavy metals (cadmium, mercury, and lead) due to shellfish consumption in the Veneto Region, Italy. Shellfish consumption was investigated by a food frequency consumption survey. Altogether, 1949 households, stratified into the five most populated areas of the Veneto Region, were involved in the study. Exposure estimation to heavy metals was carried out taking into account the level of metal measured in samples of Manila clams (Ruditapes philippinarum) and grooved carpet shell (Ruditapes decussatus), collected in the frame of the monitoring activities of mollusk production areas of Veneto Region, between January 2007 and December 2012. A general high contribution of the considered shellfish to the Tolerable Weekly Intake was noticed in the case of cadmium, especially in 2011, when a considerable increase in cadmium intake was estimated. This was probably due to a heavy rainfall event that triggered catastrophic flooding with high impact on shellfish capture areas in November 2010. The results strongly emphasize the importance of dealing with food safety in a holistic way, taking into account the potential impact of extraordinary natural events on food chain contamination, in order to identify food hazards at an early stage, before developing into a real risk for consumers.

Citing Articles

An Update of Tetrodotoxins Toxicity and Risk Assessment Associated to Contaminated Seafood Consumption in Europe: A Systematic Review.

Varini C, Manganelli M, Scardala S, Antonelli P, Losasso C, Testai E Toxins (Basel). 2025; 17(2).

PMID: 39998093 PMC: 11860457. DOI: 10.3390/toxins17020076.

Essential and Non-Essential Elements in Razor Clams (, Pulteney, 1799) from the Domitio Littoral in Campania (Southwestern Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy).

Esposito M, Canzanella S, Danese A, Pepe A, Gallo P Toxics. 2022; 10(8).

PMID: 36006131 PMC: 9413232. DOI: 10.3390/toxics10080452.

Real-Time Environmental Monitoring for Aquaculture Using a LoRaWAN-Based IoT Sensor Network.

Bates H, Pierce M, Benter A Sensors (Basel). 2021; 21(23).

PMID: 34883973 PMC: 8659442. DOI: 10.3390/s21237963.

Cadmium and Lead Exposure, Nephrotoxicity, and Mortality.

Satarug S, Gobe G, Vesey D, Phelps K Toxics. 2020; 8(4).

PMID: 33066165 PMC: 7711868. DOI: 10.3390/toxics8040086.

Hummingbird-Leaves-Reared Black Soldier Fly Prepupae: Assessment of Nutritional and Heavy Metal Compositions.

Kuppusamy G, Kong C, Segaran G, Tarmalingam E, Herriman M, Ismail M Biology (Basel). 2020; 9(9).

PMID: 32899563 PMC: 7563170. DOI: 10.3390/biology9090274.

References

Copat C, Maggiore R, Arena G, Lanzafame S, Fallico R, Sciacca S . Evaluation of a temporal trend heavy metals contamination in Posidonia oceanica (L.) Delile, (1813) along the western coastline of Sicily (Italy). J Environ Monit. 2011; 14(1):187-92. DOI: 10.1039/c1em10575b. View

Oehlenschlager J . Seafood: nutritional benefits and risk aspects. Int J Vitam Nutr Res. 2012; 82(3):168-76. DOI: 10.1024/0300-9831/a000108. View

Bushkin-Bedient S, Carpenter D . Benefits versus risks associated with consumption of fish and other seafood. Rev Environ Health. 2010; 25(3):161-91. DOI: 10.1515/reveh.2010.25.3.161. View

Ciszewski D, Aleksander-Kwaterczak U, Pociecha A, Szarek-Gwiazda E, Waloszek A, Wilk-Wozniak E . Small effects of a large sediment contamination with heavy metals on aquatic organisms in the vicinity of an abandoned lead and zinc mine. Environ Monit Assess. 2013; 185(12):9825-42. PMC: 3825522. DOI: 10.1007/s10661-013-3295-z. View

Pieniak Z, Verbeke W, Scholderer J . Health-related beliefs and consumer knowledge as determinants of fish consumption. J Hum Nutr Diet. 2010; 23(5):480-8. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-277X.2010.01045.x. View

Rotkin-Ellman M, Solomon G, Gonzales C, Agwaramgbo L, Mielke H . Arsenic contamination in New Orleans soil: temporal changes associated with flooding. Environ Res. 2009; 110(1):19-25. DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2009.09.004. View

Sommerfreund J, Gandhi N, Diamond M, Mugnai C, Frignani M, Capodaglio G . Contaminant fate and transport in the Venice Lagoon: results from a multi-segment multimedia model. Ecotoxicol Environ Saf. 2009; 73(3):222-30. DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2009.11.005. View

Zuykov M, Pelletier E, Harper D . Bivalve mollusks in metal pollution studies: from bioaccumulation to biomonitoring. Chemosphere. 2013; 93(2):201-8. DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2013.05.001. View

Collavini F, Bettiol C, Zaggia L, Zonta R . Pollutant loads from the drainage basin to the Venice Lagoon (Italy). Environ Int. 2005; 31(7):939-47. DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2005.05.003. View

10.

Raatz S, Silverstein J, Jahns L, Picklo M . Issues of fish consumption for cardiovascular disease risk reduction. Nutrients. 2013; 5(4):1081-97. PMC: 3705336. DOI: 10.3390/nu5041081. View

11.

Genuis S . To sea or not to sea: benefits and risks of gestational fish consumption. Reprod Toxicol. 2008; 26(2):81-5. DOI: 10.1016/j.reprotox.2008.08.002. View

12.

Gavilan J, Barra R, Fossi M, Casini S, Salinas G, Parra O . Biochemical biomarkers in fish from different river systems reflect exposure to a variety of anthropogenic stressors. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol. 2001; 66(4):476-83. DOI: 10.1007/s001280031. View

13.

Cordeiro F, Baer I, Robouch P, Emteborg H, Can S, Krata A . Setting maximum limits for trace elements in baby food in European legislation: the outcome of International Measurement Evaluation Programme®-33. Food Addit Contam Part A Chem Anal Control Expo Risk Assess. 2013; 30(4):678-86. DOI: 10.1080/19440049.2013.775605. View

14.

Lozano G, Herraiz E, Hardisson A, Gutierrez A, Gonzalez-Weller D, Rubio C . Heavy and trace metal concentrations in three rockpool shrimp species (Palaemon elegans, Palaemon adspersus and Palaemon serratus) from Tenerife (Canary Islands). Environ Monit Assess. 2009; 168(1-4):451-60. DOI: 10.1007/s10661-009-1126-z. View

15.

Rotkin-Ellman M, Wong K, Solomon G . Seafood contamination after the BP Gulf oil spill and risks to vulnerable populations: a critique of the FDA risk assessment. Environ Health Perspect. 2011; 120(2):157-61. PMC: 3279436. DOI: 10.1289/ehp.1103695. View

16.

Zonta R, Collavini F, Zaggia L, Zuliani A . The effect of floods on the transport of suspended sediments and contaminants: a case study from the estuary of the Dese River (Venice Lagoon, Italy). Environ Int. 2005; 31(7):948-58. DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2005.05.005. View

17.

Zhou Q, Zhang J, Fu J, Shi J, Jiang G . Biomonitoring: an appealing tool for assessment of metal pollution in the aquatic ecosystem. Anal Chim Acta. 2007; 606(2):135-50. DOI: 10.1016/j.aca.2007.11.018. View

18.

Kadirvelu K, ThamaraiSelvi K, Namasivayam C . Removal of heavy metals from industrial wastewaters by adsorption onto activated carbon prepared from an agricultural solid waste. Bioresour Technol. 2001; 76(1):63-5. DOI: 10.1016/s0960-8524(00)00072-9. View

19.

Flegal A, Davis J, Connor M, Conaway C . Sources, transport, fate, and toxicity of pollutants in the San Francisco Bay estuary. Environ Res. 2007; 105(1):1-4. DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2007.05.014. View

20.

Micheletti C, Critto A, Marcomini A . Assessment of ecological risk from bioaccumulation of PCDD/Fs and dioxin-like PCBs in a coastal lagoon. Environ Int. 2006; 33(1):45-55. DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2006.06.023. View