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Evaluation of Heavy Metal Pollution in the Arabian Gulf Using the Clam Meretrix meretrix Linnaeus, 1758

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Abstract

The present study is an attempt to assess the heavy metal contamination in the marine environment of the Arabian Gulf of Saudi Arabia. The concentrations of heavy metals in water and the soft tissues of the bivalve species Meretrix meretrix Linnaeus, 1758, from different stations along the Arabian Gulf coastline, were determined during the summer season of 2008. Bioaccumulation of some heavy metals (Cd, Pb, Cu, and Zn) in fresh parts of the clam (M. meretrix) was measured by an atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The average concentrations of heavy metals in the clam tissues were 0.224–0.908, 0.294–2.496, 3.528–8.196, and 12.864–24.56 mg/kg wet weight for Cd, Pb, Cu, and Zn, respectively. In water, the mean concentration values of these metals were arranged in the following descending order: Pb > Cu > Zn > Cd. The heavy metal concentrations in tissues of M. meretrix were within the acceptable standards set by the US Environmental Protection Agency, the Commission Européenne, and the Food and Drug Administration of the USA. From the human public health point of view, these results seem to show no possibility of acute toxicities of Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn if the edible clam is consumed. It is recommended that relevant authorities should carry out a continual assessment on the levels of these pollutants in the studied area.

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Acknowledgment

The authors would like to thank the Research Center, College of Teachers, King Saud University and the Center of Excellence for Biodiversity Research, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for supporting this project (BIO/2010/3).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Sciences, College of Teachers, King Saud University, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

    Hamad Alyahya, Saleh Al Farraj & Magdy El-Hedeny

  2. Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt

    Amel H. El-Gendy

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  1. Hamad Alyahya
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  2. Amel H. El-Gendy
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  3. Saleh Al Farraj
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  4. Magdy El-Hedeny
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Correspondence to Magdy El-Hedeny.

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Alyahya, H., El-Gendy, A.H., Al Farraj, S. et al. Evaluation of Heavy Metal Pollution in the Arabian Gulf Using the Clam Meretrix meretrix Linnaeus, 1758. Water Air Soil Pollut 214, 499–507 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-010-0441-x

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