Metallic elements in fischeries traded in the city of São Paulo

Abstract

In the last years, it has happened a considerable increase in the trade of fish in the city of São Paulo. The explanation for this fact can be based on the increase of the demand of the internal market, consequence of the populations’ purchasing power increase due to the decreasing of inflation. Great part of the fish traded in the city of São Paulo originates from the South area of the country. Due to great amount of industrial dejections, derived from the increase of the antrophogenic activities, annually, tons of heavy metals as mercury, tin, silver, chromium, zinc, lead, aluminum, cadmium, copper and arsenic are thrown into the rivers and seas. Those metallic elements, when liberated in aquatic systems, are incorporated to the food chain of the fish through the plankton. The consumption of fish contaminated with high level of heavy metals can cause several health problems. When ingested, most part of the heavy metals are distributed by the whole organism, affecting multiple organs, in ranches-objective characterized as biochemical processes (enzymes), organelles and celular membranes. The eleven fish species analyzed were obtained at CEAGESP. In this work, the results are in accord with the limits established by World Health Organization (WHO).