PT08 Metals and Metalloids
Exhibit Hall
8:00 AM - Tuesday, 11 November 2003
(PT140) Trace Metals in Edible Fish from Vieques - Puerto Rico.
Acevedo, L1, 2, Mansilla, I1, Jimenez, B2, 3, Rodiguez, C, 1 Department of Environmental Health-School of Public Health, San Juan, Puerto Rico2 Center for Environmental and Toxicological Research, San Juan, Puerto Rico3 Department of Biochemestry - School of Medicine, Medical Scinces Campus University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
ABSTRACT- Vieques is an island, with an area of 145 km2, and 9,106 inhabitants, located 9.6 km from the southeast coast of Puerto Rico. For over sixty years, 2/3 of Vieques has been used by the United States Navy for live ammunition practice and storage. The long use of live ammunition, and the potential exposure to metals from military artifacts are major environmental and human health concerns. Fish associated to military-impacted coastal waters of Vieques could become exposed to high concentrations of metals. Eight edible marine/estuarine fish species (Sparisoma spp., Haemulon spp., Diapterus plumieri, Holocentrus ascensionis, Caranax crysos, Lutjanus spp., Gerres cinereus and Acanthurus spp.) were collected from seven locations around coastal waters of Vieques. Fish muscle and liver were acid-digested in a microwave oven CEM-model 1000, and metals analyzed using a Perkin Elmer-Analyst 800 atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS). Average values in muscle for As, Cu, Zn, Se and Hg were 3.5, 0.32, 6.9, 0.62 and 0.12 in 
g/g (ww). Concentrations for Cd, Co and Pb were below the minimum reporting limit of the AAS. Average values in liver were 5.6 for As, 0.87 for Cd, 16.2 for Cu, 1.3 for Co, 0.16 for Pb, 493 for Zn and 3.4 for Se in g/g (ww). Fish species collected in coastal waters adjacent to military practice zones had As concentrations in muscles that exceeded the International Health Advisory Criteria of 2.0 g/g (ww).
Key words: Vieques, metals , fish