Kimakova et al. 2018 - Fish and fish products as mercury exposure risks
This study monitored total mercury in fish and fish products from retail in Eastern Slovakia and fish from the Ruzin water reservoir.
Key numbers
Source units are mg/kg.
- Total fish and fish-product samples: 384.
- Samples above the European Commission mercury maximum level: 194 samples, 50.52% of all samples.
- Mercury concentrations ranged from 0.08942 to 6.552.
- Mean mercury concentration: 1.2 +/- 1.2.
- Median mercury concentration: 0.6.
- The highest concentration was 6.552 in muscle from fish from the Ruzin water reservoir, more than 13 times the 0.5 mg/kg comparison level.
Methods
Total mercury was measured using an AMA 254 atomic absorption mercury analyzer. The paper reports LOQ 0.002 mg/kg and validation uncertainty bands across mercury concentration ranges.
Implications
The source supports fish/seafood total-mercury surveillance context for Slovakia. The dataset combines retail fish/products and reservoir fish, so local reservoir findings should not be pooled blindly with retail seafood. The authors’ consumer-safety conclusion specifically calls out shark, swordfish, and king mackerel as categories of concern for children, women of childbearing age, pregnant women, and nursing mothers.
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Verification notes
- Source identity checked against DOI 10.26444/aaem/84934 and the downloaded PDF.
- The paper reports total mercury, not methylmercury.
Page history
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