Assessment of metal concentrations in oysters and shrimp from Atlantic Coast of the Democratic Republic of the Congo

• Published in: Heliyon 2019-12, Vol.5 (12), p.e03049, Article e03049
• Main Authors: Suami, Robert B., Al Salah, Dhafer Mohammed M., Kabala, César D., Otamonga, J.-P., Mulaji, Crispin K., Mpiana, Pius T., Poté, John W.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Atlantic Ocean; Bioaccumulation; Congo DR; Environmental pollution; Environmental risk assessment; Environmental science; Heavy metal; Oysters; Shrimp; Water pollution; Water quality
• ISSN: 2405-8440; 2405-8440
• DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e03049

Oysters and shrimp are abundant and commonly consumed seafood by the indigenous population of the Kongo central region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Literature reviews suggest that no data were available for the metal concentrations in these species. Consequently, the purpose of this study is to determine the metal concentrations in tissues of oysters (Egeria congica) and shrimp (Macrobrachium spp., Parapenaeus spp., Penaeus spp.) collected in November 2017 from the Atlantic Ocean Coast of DRC in the territory of Muanda. Metal levels in the seafood species studied here were put into context using international regulation for human consumption set by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), European Union (EU), and World Health Organization (WHO). Our results demonstrated that the concentration of heavy metals varied considerably between sampling sites and analyzed species (P < 0.05), with the values (in mg kg1) ranged between 0.05-0.41, 0.03–2.25,