Organ-specific bioaccumulation and deterministic health risk assessment of selected heavy metal(loid)s in commercial fish from a southern harbor region (Nagapattinam)

IntroductionHeavy metal contamination of coastal waters results in bioaccumulation in fish, posing a significant route of human exposure via seafood consumption. The present study focuses on organ-specific metal distribution and associated health risk indices in three important fish species from the Nagapattinam coast, India.MethodsIn the current study, three species of fish (Nemipterus japonicus, Oreochromis mossambicus, and Lates calcarifer) were considered with three biological replicates per species obtained from local fish markets of Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu, India, during January–February 2024. The HM profiling was performed on three organs: liver, gills, and muscle tissues. HMs, including arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), mercury (Hg), lead (Pb), strontium (Sr), and vanadium (V), were analyzed using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS).ResultsThe concentrations were found to be in the range of 0.025–21.53 μg kg−1. Upon non-carcinogenic risk assessment, the target hazard quotient (THQ) for all species was found to be <1 for both adults and children, indicating low non-carcinogenic risk associated with the consumption of the selected species under the assumed intake scenario. In contrast, the cancer risk (CR) value for chromium in Nemipterus japonicus was found to be elevated (children: 1643.58 × 10−6 and adults: 939.19 × 10−6), assuming a conservative worst-case exposure scenario in which total chromium is considered as Cr(VI), potentially inflating cancer risk estimates.DiscussionOverall, the findings suggest low non-carcinogenic risk under average consumption conditions; however, the estimated carcinogenic risk for chromium exceeded the commonly referenced acceptable threshold under conservative assumptions and should therefore be interpreted with caution. These results highlight the need for further investigation, particularly chromium speciation analysis, to refine risk estimates for fish consumed from the Nagapattinam marketplace.