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Organochlorine, organophosphate, triazole, and strobilurin pesticides were determined in fish samples. Relative standard deviations lower than 9.3% were obtained for organochlorine pesticides and 10.8% for other pesticides. Accuracy ranged from 73% to 119% for organochlorine pesticides and 80.4% to 116% for organophosphate, triazole, and strobilurin pesticides. A total of 28 pesticides were analysed and 7 of them were detected (exceeding 10 µg/kg) in some samples, with the highest concentration recorded at 68.5 µg/kg, corresponding to heptachlor epoxide A. The pesticide most frequently detected was ß HCH, found in 30 of the 100 analysed samples. Hazard Quotient values were estimated for men, women, and children. These values exceeded 1 for heptachlor epoxide in women and children, as well as for endrin in children. These findings emphasise the need for stricter controls to reduce fish contamination and mitigate health risks.

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Urban agriculture should be promoted as long as the food produced is safe for consumption. Located in the metropolitan region of São Paulo-Brazil, Santo André has intense industrial activities and more recently an increasing stimulus to urban gardening. One of the potential risks associated to this activity is the presence of potentially toxic elements (PTEs). In this study, the concentration of PTEs (As, Ba, Cd, Co, Cu, Cr, Ni, Mo, Pb, Sb, Se, V and Zn) was evaluated by soil (n = 85) and soil amendments (n = 19) in urban gardens from this municipality. Only barium was above regulatory limits in agricultural soil ranging from 20 to 112 mg kg-1. Geochemical indexes (Igeo, Cf and Er) revealed moderate to severe pollution for As, Ba, Cr, Cu, Pb Se and Zn, especialy in Capuava petrochemical complex gardens. A multivariate statistical approach discriminated Capuava gardens from the others and correlated As, Cr and V as main factors of pollution. However, carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks were below the acceptable range for regulatory purposes of 10-6-10-4 for adults. Soil amendments were identified as a possible source of contamination for Ba, Zn and Pb which ranged from 37 to 4137 mg kg-1, 20 to 701 mg kg-1 and 0.7 to 73 mg kg-1, respectively. The results also indicated the presence of six pathogenic bacteria in these amendments. Besides that, the occurrence of antimicrobial resistance for Shigella, Enterobacter and Citrobacter isolates suggests that soil management practices improvement is necessary.

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Mercury is one of the most dangerous contaminants on the planet. In recent years, evidence of mercury contamination in the Amazon has significantly increased, notably due to gold-mining activities. Although mercury contamination in fish has consistently been documented, little is known about the risk associated with fish consumption by populations in urban areas of the Amazon. We sampled 1010 fish sold in public markets in six state capitals and 11 additional cities. Mercury levels were determined for each specimen, and the evaluation of the health risks associated with consuming mercury-contaminated fish was conducted according to the methodology proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO). Our study reveals that more than one-fifth (21.3%) of the fish sold in urban centers had mercury levels above the safe limits (≥0.5 µg/g) established by the Brazilian Health Surveillance Agency (ANVISA). The prevalence of Hg contamination ≥0.5 µg/g was approximately 14 times higher in carnivorous than in noncarnivorous fish. The analysis of the risk attributable to fish consumption reveals that daily mercury intake exceeded the reference dose recommended by the U.S. EPA in all population groups analyzed, reaching up to 7 and 31 times in women of childbearing age and children from 2 to 4 years old, respectively. However, these risks are diverse depending on the type of fish consumed and must be considered to formulate appropriate nutritional guidelines for safe fish consumption by the local community.

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This study aims to improve the current method of studying potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in urban dust using direct chemical evidence (from dust, rock, and emission source samples) and robust geochemical methods. The provenance of urban dust was determined using rare earth elements (REEs) and geochemical diagrams (V-Ni-Th*10, TiO2 vs. Zr, and Zr/Ti vs. Nb/Y). The geogenic or anthropogenic source of PTEs was determined using the enrichment factor (EF) and compositional data analysis (CoDA), while a PTE's point emission source was identified using a 3.1*La-1.54*Ce-Zn diagram, mineralogy, and morphology analyses. The spatiotemporal distribution of PTEs was determined using a geographic information system, and their health risk (by inhalation) was estimated using a lung bioaccessibility test and particle size distribution. We collected urban dust (n = 38), rock (n = 4), and zinc concentrate (n = 2) samples and determined PTEs and REEs in a city of 1.25 million inhabitants in central Mexico. Results showed that urban dust derived from the San Miguelito Range. REEs, Sc, and Zr were geogenic, while Mn, Cu, Zn, As, and Pb were anthropogenic. Due to the presente of sphalerite particles, a zinc refinery was identified as the point emission source of Zn, As, and Pb. High concentrations of Zn (5000-20,008 mg/kg), As (120-284 mg/kg), and Pb (350-776 mg/kg) were found in urban dust near the zinc refinery. Additionally, particles of PM2.5 (66-84%), PM5.0 (13-27%), PM10 (3-8%), and PM20 (0-2%) and lung bioaccessibility of Sr (48.5-72.4%), Zn (9.6-28.4%), Cu (10.5-27.0%), Fe (4.5-8.6%), Mn (2.9-9.2%), Cr (38.3%) and Pb (30.6%) demonstrated a latent risk to human health. These approaches improve our understanding of the provenance of urban dust and its PTE emission sources in urban areas.

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Over the years, humans have been continuously exposed to several compounds directly generated by industrial processes and/or present in consumed products. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are legacy pollutants ubiquitous in the environment and represent the main chemical pollutants in urban areas. Worldwide, studies that aim to understand the impacts of exposure to these chemicals have gained increasing prominence due to their potential toxicity profile, mainly concerning genotoxicity and carcinogenicity. Human biomonitoring (HB) is an analytical approach to monitoring population exposure to chemicals; however, these studies are still limited in Brazil. Thus, this work aimed to evaluate the exposure of Brazilian pregnant women to PAHs through HB studies. Besides, the risk characterization of this exposure was performed. For this purpose, urine samples from 358 Brazilian pregnant women were used to evaluate 11 hydroxylated metabolites of PAHs employing gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. The 1OH-naphthol and 2OH-naphthol were detected in 100% of the samples and showed high levels, corresponding to 16.99 and 3.62 µg/g of creatinine, respectively. 2OH-fluorene (8.12 µg/g of creatinine) and 9OH-fluorene (1.26 µg/g of creatinine) were detected in 91% and 66% of the samples, respectively. Benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) metabolites were detected in more than 50% of the samples (0.58-1.26 µg/g of creatinine). A hazard index of 1.4 and a carcinogenic risk above 10-4 were found for BaP metabolites in the risk characterization. Therefore, our findings may indicate that exposure to PAHs poses a potential risk to pregnant women's health and a high probability of carcinogenic risk due to their exposure to BaP. Finally, this work shows the need for more in-depth studies to determine the sources of exposure and the implementation of health protection measures regarding the exposure of the Brazilian population to PAHs.

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The increasing population in urban areas in the last decades requires an effort to understand the geochemistry of contaminant elements in urban soil. Topsoil plays a crucial role in the exposure of Potentially Toxic Elements (PTEs) to humans through ingestion, dermal contact, and inhalation. In Chile, the last census revealed that 88.6% of people live in cities or towns and only 11.4% in rural areas. This study presents the first systematic geochemical survey of urban soil in the city of Valdivia, in the South of Chile. Topsoil samples (0-10 cm depth) were collected in less disturbed locations within the city at 130 sampling sites using a grid of 0.25 km2 squares covering a total area of approximately 30 km2. The concentrations of Al, Fe, Na, Ca, Mg, K, Ti, Be, V, Cr, Mn, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Mo, Sn, Cd, Se, Pb and Hg were measured. The results showed that high concentrations of Cu, V, Zn and Pb are located mainly in the city's northern area and exceed international soil quality legislation for agricultural use. Data processing comprised plotting of individual spatial distribution maps and the use of a combination of multivariate statistical methods. Hierarchical cluster analysis and principal component analysis identified three element associations. The two element groups V-Al-Ti-Fe-Cr-Co-Mn-Be-Ni and Ca-Na-K-As-Mg are interpreted as a dominant lithological origin related to the most pristine soil conditions in less populated areas. By contrast, the Sn-Pb-Zn-Mo-(Cu-Hg) association presents a significant correlation with urbanization indicators, including vehicular traffic and industrial activities developed since the end of the nineteenth century in Valdivia.

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This study investigates spatio-temporal variations of PM10 mass concentrations and associated metal(oid)s, δ13C carbon isotope ratios, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), total organic carbon (TOC) and equivalent black carbon (eBC) concentrations over a half year period (from March 2017 to October 2017) in two residential areas of Medellín (MED-1 and MED-2) and Itagüí municipality (ITA-1 and ITA-2) at a tropical narrow valley (Aburrá Valley, Colombia), where few data are available. A total of 104 samples were analysed by using validated analytical methodologies, providing valuable data for PM10 chemical characterisation. Metal(oid)s concentrations were measured by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) after acid digestion, and PAHs concentrations were measured by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) after Pressurised Hot Water Extraction (PHWE) and Membrane Assisted Solvent Extraction (MASE). Mean PM10 mass concentration ranged from 37.0 µg m-3 to 45.7 µg m-3 in ITA-2 and MED-2 sites, respectively. Al, Ca, Mg and Na (from 6249 ng m-3 for Mg at MED-1 site to 10,506 ng m-3 for Ca at MED-2 site) were the major elements in PM10 samples, whilst As, Be, Bi, Co, Cs, Li, Ni, Sb, Se, Tl and V were found at trace levels (< 5.4 ng m-3). Benzo[g,h,i] perylene (BghiP), benzo[b + j]fluoranthene (BbjF) and indene(1,2,3-c,d)pyrene (IcdP) were the most profuse PAHs in PM10 samples, with average concentrations of 0.82-0.86, 0.60-0.78 and 0.47-0.58 ng m-3, respectively. Results observed in the four sampling sites showed a similar dispersion pattern of pollutants, with temporal fluctuations which seems to be associated to the meteorology of the valley. A PM source apportionment study were carried out by using the positive matrix factorization (PMF) model, pointing to re-suspended dust, combustion processes, quarry activity and secondary aerosols as PM10 sources in the study area. Among them, combustion was the major PM10 contribution (accounting from 32.1 to 32.9% in ITA-1 and ITA-2, respectively), followed by secondary aerosols (accounting for 13.2% and 23.3% ITA-1 and MED-1, respectively). Finally, a moderate carcinogenic risk was observed for PM10-bound PAHs exposure via inhalation, whereas significant carcinogenic risk was estimated for carcinogenic metal(oid)s exposure in the area during the sampling period.

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Coastal ecosystems in the Caribbean are vulnerable to pollution from land-based activities with possible impacts to human health. Ten heavy metals in the blue land crab, Cardisoma guanhumi, harvested from the Caroni Swamp, Trinidad, were investigated in the wet and dry seasons. Metal concentrations (µg g-1 dry weight) in crab tissue were: As (0.15-6.46), Ba (0.69-19.64), Cd (< 0.001-3.36), Cr (0.63-3.64), Cu (26.64-120.31), Hg (0.09-1.83), Ni (1.21-9.33), Se (0.19-1.55), V (0.16-0.69) and Zn (121.06-494.3). There were seasonal differences in the concentration of some heavy metals and, Cu and Zn exceeded the local maximum permissible levels for fish and shellfish at several sites in either one or both seasons. Health risk assessment based on estimated daily intake, target hazard quotient and hazard index revealed that Cardisoma guanhumi harvested from the Caroni Swamp, does not pose a health risk to consumers.

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A health risk assessment of inorganic and organic species associated with coarse and fine particulate matter (PM) was conducted in Southeastern Brazil. TSP, PM10, and PM2.5 samples were collected, and their elemental (metals/metalloids) and organic (PAHs) composition were determined by EDXRF and GC-MS. The health risks were determined through hazard quotient (HQ) and cancer risk (CR). It was found that different elements and routes of exposure lead to different health risks, even for the PM concentration in compliance with air quality standards. The major routes of exposure for adults were inhalation and dermal contact whereas for children were ingestion and dermal contact. High non-cancer risks (HQ) caused by Cl and Fe exposure were associated with coarser fractions, PM10 and TSP, respectively, whereas high HQ for Se, Sb, and V exposure were associated with PM2.5. HQ values for children were near twice that for adults, and CR values were 65 % to 130 % higher for children than for adults. CR posed by PAHs was negligible. The results highlighted that the HQ might be over- or underestimated depending on the form in which the element Cl is determined (elemental or ion), reinforcing the need for an embracing chemical characterization of the PM. High HQ values were found related to the exposure to some elements present in the TSP, showing that this PM fraction should not be neglected.

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Gold mining (GM) is a major source of metals and metalloids in rivers, causing severe environmental pollution and increasing the exposure risks to the residents of surrounding areas. Mining in Ecuadorian Amazonia has dramatically increased in recent years, but its impacts on Indigenous local populations that make use of rivers are still unknown. The aim of this study was to assess the risks to adults and children caused by the exposure to metals and metalloids in freshwater ecosystems contaminated with tailings released by GM activities in 11 sites of the upper Napo River basin, Ecuador. We selected a carcinogenic and a noncarcinogenic risk assessment method to estimate the hazard index (HI) and total cancer risk (TCR). The concentration of Ag, Al, As, Cd, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb, Zn, B, and V in water and sediment samples was considered to assess the risks to human health. The calculated HI was 23-352 times greater than the acceptable limits in all sites for both children and adults. Mn and Fe were the main contributors (75% in water and 99% in sediment) to the total calculated risk based on the HI. The calculated TCR for children and adults exceeded approximately one to three times the permissible threshold in all sites. As and Pb contributed up to 93% of the total calculated risk based on TCR for both children and adults. This study demonstrates that the emission and mobilization of metals and metalloids caused by mining activities increase the risk to human health, to which we recommend further monitoring of freshwater contamination in the area and the implementation of preventive health management measures. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2023;19:706-716. © 2022 The Authors. Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (SETAC).

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Nearly half of the world's urban population depends on aquifers for drinking water. These are increasingly vulnerable to pollution and overexploitation. Besides anthropogenic sources, pollutants such as arsenic (As) are also geogenic and their concentrations have, in some cases, been increased by groundwater pumping. Almost 40 % of Mexico's population relies on groundwater for drinking water purposes; much the aquifers in semi-arid and arid central and northern Mexico is contaminated by As. These are agricultural regions where irrigation water is primarily provided from intenstive pumping of the aquifers leading to long-standing declines in the water table. The focus of this study is the main aquifer within the Comarca Lagunera region in Northern Mexico. Although the scientific evidence demonstrates that health effects are associated with long-term exposure to elevated As concentrations, this knowledge has not yielded effective groundwater development and public health policy. A multidisciplinary approach - including the evaluation of geochemistry, human health risk and development and public health policy - was used to provide a current account of these links. The dissolved As concentrations measured exceeded the corresponding World Health Organization guideline for drinking water in 90 % of the sampled wells; for the population drinking this water, the estimated probability of presenting non-carcinogenic health effects was >90 %, and the lifetime risk of developing cancer ranged from 0.5 to 61 cases in 10,000 children and 0.2 to 33 cases in 10,000 adults. The results suggest that insufficient policy responses are due to a complex and dysfunctional groundwater governance framework that compromises the economic, social and environmental sustainability of this region. These findings may valuable to other regions with similar settings that need to design and enact better informed, science-based policies that recognize the value of a more sustainable use of groundwater resources and a healthier population.

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Organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) were assessed for their occurrence, behavior and the associated human health and ecological risks in four fish species (Micropogonias furnieri, Cynoscion guatucupa, Mustelus schmitti, and Ramnogaster arcuata) and sediments from the Bahía Blanca estuary, Argentina, an important coastal environment of South America. Total OCPs values ranged from 0.86 to 6.23 ng/g dry weight in sediments and from

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Indigenous communities from northern Chile have historically been exposed to the impacts of massive copper industrial activities conducted in the region. Some of the communities belonging to the Alto El Loa Indigenous Development Area are located less than 10 km from the "Talabre'' tailings dam, which contains residues from copper production and other metals that can be toxic to human health (e.g., As, Sb, Cd, Mo, Pb). Given the increasing demand of copper production to achieve net-zero emission scenarios and concomitant expansions of the tailings, the exposure to toxic metals is a latent risk to local communities. Despite the impact that copper production could generate on ancestral communities from northern Chile, studies and monitoring are limited and the results are often not made accessible for local communities. Here, we evaluate such risks by characterizing metal concentrations in dust collected from roofs and windows of houses from the Alto El Loa area. Our results showed that As, Sb, Cd, Cu, Mo, Ag, S, and Pb concentrations in these matrices can be connected to local copper mining activities. Additionally, air transport models indicate that high concentrations of toxic elements (As, Sb, and Cd) can be explained by the atmospheric transport of particles from the tailings in a NE direction up to 50 km away. Pollution indices and Health Risk Assessment suggested a highly contaminated region with a health risk for its inhabitants. Our analysis on a local scale seeks to make visible the case of northern Chile as a critical territory where actions should be taken to mitigate the effects of mining in the face of this new scenario of international demand for the raw materials necessary for the transition to a net-zero carbon global society.

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The aim of this study was to assess the health risk attributable to the consumption of mercury-contaminated fish for the urban and non-urban populations living in the Roraima state, Amazon, Brazil. Seventy-five fish specimens distributed across twenty different species, comprising four trophic levels (i.e., herbivore, omnivore, detritivore, and carnivore), were collected at four locations in the Branco River Basin. The fish samples were sent to the Toxicology Laboratory at Evandro Chagas Institute to determine the total-Hg levels by using the cold vapor atomic system (CVAAS). The total-Hg levels ranged from 0 to 3.159 µg/g. The average concentration in non-carnivorous species (n = 32) was 0.116 µg/g, and among carnivorous fish (n = 43), it was 0.869 µg/g. The weighted average of contamination levels for all samples was 0.545 µg/g. The health risk assessment was conducted according to the methodology proposed by the World Health Organization and different scenarios of human exposure were considered, based on three levels of fish consumption (low: 50 g/day; moderate: 100 g/day and high: 200 g/day). Women of childbearing age ingest 5 to 21 times more mercury than the dose considered safe by the U.S. EPA and intake a dose from 2 to 9 times higher than the safe dose proposed by FAO/WHO. Children under 5 years of age ingest from 18 to 75 times the dose proposed by the U.S. EPA and from 8 to 32 more mercury than the limit proposed by FAO/WHO. In summary, regardless of the level of fish consumption, type of residency (urban or non-urban), and the subset of the population analyzed, anyone who consumes fish from the locations sampled is at high risk attributable to mercury ingestion, with the only exception of adult men, who consume an average of 50 g of fish per day.

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Rio Grande is a medium-sized industrial city located in the extreme south of Brazil, and previous studies in this city have shown contamination by metal(loids) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in water, soil, and sediment and in the atmosphere. In Brazil, the incorporation of PM2.5 monitoring in environmental legislation is recent (2018) and, like other developing countries, the number of studies is still small. This study aimed to investigate the levels of PM2.5 in the industrial and urban area of Rio Grande, to determine the concentration of metal(loid)s As, Cd, Cu, and Pb and of 16 PAHs in the samples of PM2.5, to perform the health risk assessment for these contaminants and the health impact assessment for two possible scenarios of reduction of PM2.5 levels. Our main findings regarding the PM2.5 samples include the following: (1) The levels of this pollutant in the city of Rio Grande were higher than those allowed in current Brazilian legislation, in both the industrial and urban areas; (2) the existence of non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risks for metals present in all samples; (3) the absence of carcinogenic risk for the assessed PAHs; and (4) the reduction scenarios proposed pointed to a reduction of up to 22 deaths annually in conjunction with reductions in health-related expenditures. Thus, these results may serve as a basis for the development of public health policies aimed at improving air quality, jointly assisting health surveillance and directing future studies towards a better intrinsic approach to the problem.

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PM2.5 samples at Haitian and Songyu container terminals in Xiamen Port were collected in summer and autumn/winter in 2020 and analyzed for 20 elements to investigate their temporal-spatial distribution features, sources, and health risk. The results showed that the levels of PM2.5 were relatively low and did not show significant spatial and diurnal differences. Ca and Si were the main crustal elements, and Zn and Mn were the main heavy metals in PM2.5. Compared with GB 3095-2012 guidelines, Cr(Ⅵ) was in the range of 27.4-28.6 times above the standard. Under the influence of monsoon and port throughput, the concentrations of some elements in summer were higher than those in autumn/winter. Significant diurnal variations were observed for Cu, Zn, SO2, and NO2 but not for V and Ni. Industrial sources were identified as the primary contributor (55.2%-59.4%), followed by traffic (28.7%-31.3%), ship emissions (7.1%-7.7%), and sea salt plus construction dust (4.8%-5.8%). The results of health risk assessment showed that heavy metals in PM2.5in Xiamen Port had potential carcinogenic risk (ECR>1(10-5) to people living near the port, and Cr(Ⅵ), V, and As together accounted for 97.3%-97.5% of the total risks; however, the non-carcinogenic risk was negligible (HI<1), and the major contributors were V, Mn, Ni, and As (89.6%-91.2%). The relative contributions of each contributor to ECR was in the order of traffic (47.2%-49.4%)>industrial (23.8%-24.2%)>ship emissions (16.9%-20.8%)>sea salt plus construction dust (5.7%-12.1%), and the relative contribution to HI was in the order of traffic (38.7%-42.3%)>industrial (24.5%-28.2%)>ship emissions (24.1%-27.2%)>sea salt plus construction dust (5.4%-9.6%).

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Human consumption of the thornback guitarfish (Platyrhinoidis triseriata) is concentrated in coastal populations of the Pacific coast of Mexico as its meat is prized for its high quality. This study analyzes the distribution of mercury and selenium in the muscle and liver of Platyrhinoidis triseriata and the risk to human health associated with its consumption. In order to conduct these estimates, specimens were collected from the Eastern Pacific Ocean in 2015 and 2016 and found mean concentrations (µg g-1 wet weight) of mercury ranging from 0.02 to 0.58 in muscle and 0.10 to 0.31 in liver. Selenium ranged from 0.14 to 1.31 in muscle and from 0.93 to 4.52 in liver. Mercury levels in the muscle of P. triseriata were significantly correlated (positive correlation) with the total length of the specimens. The predominant prey of P. triseriata was the shrimp Pleuroncodes planipes and according to the biomagnification factor, only mercury was biomagnified. The risk to consumers associated with the simultaneous presence of mercury and selenium in the muscle and liver of rays under the selenium health benefit value approach indicated that consumption of P. triseriata from this area is beneficial to human health.

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The concentrations of arsenic, cadmium, and lead in infusion tea bags of Camellia sinensis (tea), Pimpinella anisum (anise), Matricaria recutita (chamomile), Peumus boldus (boldo), and Cymbopogon citratus (lemongrass) were determined by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectroscopy (GFAAS) for four commercial brands sold in Tacna, Peru, to compare these concentrations with international standards. The moderate level of arsenic obtained for C. sinensis (0.294 mg kg-1) exceeded the Codex Alimentarius standard for three of the four analyzed brands, while the level of arsenic in P. boldus (0.220 mg kg-1) exceeded the same standard and the Mercado Común del Sur (MERCOSUR) parameters for only one brand. The moderate level of cadmium outlined in the Codex Alimentarius and by the World Health Organization (WHO) was exceeded by two infusion tea bag brands of M. recutita (0.210 mg kg-1) and one brand of C. citratus (0.134 mg kg-1). Finally, based on the MERCOSUR parameters, moderate levels of lead were exceeded by only one brand of C. citratus (0.535 mg kg-1). To evaluate possible health risks, we also calculated the hazard index (HI) of the heavy metals in the target herbal tea bags. The values obtained were less than 1, showing negligible noncarcinogenic health risks for consumers. Despite this information and because of the elevated concentrations of arsenic, cadmium, and lead obtained in some of our results, we suggest more detailed studies to obtain more information about the potential toxicity of these products to humans.

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In this study, the concentrations of Cd and Hg were measured in muscle of juvenile individuals at an importan fishing ground in southeastern Gulf of California to assess the health risk to human consumers considering elemental levels and rate of shark consumption in NW Mexico. Twenty-eight individuals were sampled in September 2019. Quantification of Hg was made by cold vapor-atomic absorption spectrophotometry, analyses of Cd were made by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrophotometry. In general, average Hg (1.27 µg g-1 dry weight) concentrations were higher than Cd (0.059). In comparison to results of Cd and Hg in muscle of several species of genus Rhizoprionodon sp., our reported concentrations were comparable. Maximum permissible limits (Cd 0.5 and Hg 0.5 µg g-1 wet weight) in fish products for human consumption were not exceeded. Health risk assessment to shark consumers indicated that Hg is of more concern than Cd but no hazards exist.

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Potentially toxic elements can enter the environment through natural and anthropogenic processes, with the latter considered the primary contributor. Road dust samples from two industrial parks on the island of Trinidad were investigated for heavy metal content, and the pollution status, potential health risks, and source apportionment were evaluated. Samples were acid-digested and analysed by flame atomic absorption spectroscopy. The average levels of cadmium, chromium, copper, manganese, nickel, lead, and zinc in road dust at the Frederick Settlement Industrial Park were 1.14 µg/g, 15.13 µg/g, 66.42 µg/g, 768.49 µg/g, 37.95 µg/g, 55.90 µg/g, and 573.04 µg/g, respectively, while average concentrations at the O'Meara Industrial Park were 1.20 µg/g, 16.97 µg/g, 42.72 µg/g, 482.65 µg/g, 21.12 µg/g, 136.77 µg/g, and 358.70 µg/g, respectively. Contamination assessments evaluated both Fredrick Settlement and O'Meara as typically uncontaminated to moderately polluted, with the overall ecological risk deemed low at all locations. Hazard index values at all sampling areas were lower than 1, indicating no potential non-carcinogenic risks to children or adults, while the carcinogenic exposure risks for cadmium, chromium, and nickel were considered low. Principal component analysis and cluster analysis revealed two main sources of contamination for Fredrick Settlement, and three main sources for O'Meara. Based on the groupings obtained, the presence of potentially toxic elements was attributed primarily to specific anthropogenic activities within the industrial parks, with lesser contributions from vehicular-related sources.

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