Biomonitoring of trace elements in Vietnamese freshwater mussels
Journal article, 2004

The objective of the present study was to conduct a preliminary investigation of the pollution situation in the northern part of Vietnam with focus on trace elements including heavy metals. A freshwater bivalve species of the Unionidae family (Pletholophus swinhoei), abundant in this part of the country and frequently used for human consumption, was chosen as biomonitor. Ten specimens each were collected at two rural sites, Day Minh, approximately 40 km south of the capital Hanoi, and An Thin, situated approximately 11 km south of the Pha Lai power plant. The concentrations of 20 elements were measured using total reflection X-ray fluorescence and graphite furnace atomic absorption spectroscopy. Significant site-specific differences were found for the elements As, Ba, Be, Br, Cr, Fe, Mn, Ni, P and Sr. A comparison with other in situ biomonitoring studies using Unionidae bivalves showed that the concentrations of most elements were within the same order of magnitude, whereas heavy metal concentrations were distinctively low, suggesting the absence of major anthropogenic pollution sources in this area. The concentrations of Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, Se and Zn were below the levels regarded as harmful according to the international standards for metals in mollusks compiled by the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

METAL POLLUTION

RIVER

biomonitoring

freshwater mussels (Pletholophus swinhoei)

trace elements

GULF

HONG-KONG

furnace atomic absorption spectrometry (GF-AAS)

MYTILUS-EDULIS

BIOAVAILABILITY

INDICATOR

graphite

X-RAY-FLUORESCENCE

total reflection X-ray

MOLLUSKS

fluorescence (TXRF)

CADMIUM

Author

Annemarie Wagner

University of Gothenburg

Johan Boman

University of Gothenburg

Spectrochimica Acta Part B-Atomic Spectroscopy

Vol. 59 8 1125-1132

Subject Categories

Chemical Sciences

DOI

10.1016/j.sab.2003.11.009

More information

Created

10/10/2017