Metal Bioaccumulation in Fish Exposed to Atmospheric Particulate Material Released From Steel Industries

I. SOUZA; M.V. MONFERRAN; DANIEL A. WUNDERLIN; M.N. FERNANDES

Congreso; SETAC Latin America 14th Biennial Meeting, Edición Virtual; 2021

The occurrence of atmospheric particulate matter APM) containingmetals and metallic nanoparticles has increased in the world, causingenvironment contamination. In the southeast region of Brazil, APMfrom steel industries has contaminated aquatic environment. This studyevaluated the bioaccumulation pattern of metals contained in APMreleased by steel industries in Oreochromis niloticus. APM wascollected in Vitória?s bay, Espírito Santo state, Brazil, and O. niloticuswere exposed to 1 g APM L-1) in a semi-static system, for 30 d. Themetal profile of APM was analyzed and, water sampling and fish werecollected every three days for water physicochemical variables analyses,metal chemical profiling of the dissolved metals e fish metalbioaccumulation in the viscera and fillet. Metallothionein andhistopathology were analyzed in the gills. For the multi-elementanalysis, the samples were acid digested and the concentration of metalsdetermined by ICP-MS (Inductively coupled plasma massspectrometry). The following metals were identified and quantified: B,Al, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Se, Rb, Sr, Ag, Cd, Pb, Hg, Ba, Bi,W, Ti, Zr, Y, La, Nb, Ce in the APM. Six metals (Cu, Fe, Al, Zn, Mn,Pb) were analyzed in the fish?s viscera and fillet due to have highconcentration in APM and limits determined by Brazilian and USAlegislation. The concentration of Cu in water was higher than the limits established for freshwater from day 3 to 24. The concentration of Fe washigher from day 3 to 12, Al concentration was higher on all days, excepton the 18th day. The determined bioconcentration factor (BCF) was >1for all metals analyzed, confirming their bioaccumulation in tilapia.Metals as Al, Fe, Mn and Pb showed similar accumulation patterns withsignificant increase concentration in the first days until reaching a peak,followed by the subsequent decrease. Cu and Zn showed differentbioaccumulation pattern with several peaks and persistence highconcentration throughout the exposure. There was preferentialbioaccumulation of those metals in the viscera compared to the fillet.The histopathological analyses and metallothionein concentration in thegills were unchanged after exposure to MPA. Exposure to higherconcentrations of MPAS may trigger more severe responses. The metalbioaccumulation pattern was characterized by initial high increasingwith subsequent decreasing, except for Cu and Zn which were persistentin the organism. Financial support: FAPESP Proc. 2019/08491-0,2016/24257-2; CNPq Proc. 306818/2020-5