ABSTRACT

This study was undertaken to determine the concentration of iron, zinc, copper, cadmium and lead in edible gill, flesh, blood and scales of Pseudotolithus senegalensis (short croaker) collected from a cold store in Umuahia Abia State. The concentration of the metals were determined using (AAS) Atomic Absorption spectrophotometer, mean levels of each elements were presented in relation to the parts of the fish examined also the weight. The flesh recorded the least values of all the heavy metals which might be as a result of the protective presence of the scales. However, the scales contained highest quantities of almost all the elements, that is, zinc was highly present in the scales of the fish for all the months of the study — 21.62 mg, 23.32 mg, 23.98 mg and 23.5 mg. Also gill contained the greatest quantities of lead and cadmium and which were consistently highest for all the months except September, during which the scales had the highest value. Though some of these metals (iron, cadmium, lead) are present in negligible or minute amounts, iron is the most abundant followed by zinc, then copper and lead with cadmium occurring in the least quantities. Using acceptable international standards (WHO and FEPA), one can conclude that it is unlikely that any of the concentration found represents an acute risk to man as a consumer.