Accumulation of heavy metals in different body tissues of Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., exposed to a model mixture (Cu, Zn, Ni, Cr, Pb, Cd) and singly to nickel, chromium, and lead

Abstract

One-year-old Atlantic salmon smolts were exposed for 2 weeks either to six priority heavy metal mixture or to Ni, Pb, and Cr singly at a concentration corresponding to Lithuanian inland water standards: Cu – 0.01, Zn – 0.1, Ni – 0.01, Cr – 0.01, Cd – 0.005 and Pb – 0.005 mg/L, respectively under semi-static conditions. The presence of metal mixture in the water only partly (by 50 %) affected the accumulation of single metals in body tissues (muscle, gills, liver and kidneys) probably due to the synergistic interactions among metals. Although metal concentrations increased in most cases, only Pb exceeded recommended level for human consumption (0.2 Pb mg/L) by 1.1-fold to 2.1-fold.