Six heavy metals (chromium [Cr], nickel [Ni], copper [Cu], arsenic [As], cadmium [Cd], and lead [Pb]) were measured in sediments and soft tissues of eleven commonly consumed fish species collected from an urban river in the northern part of Bangladesh. The abundance of heavy metals in sediments varied in the decreasing order of Cr > Ni > Cu > Pb > As > Cd. The ranges of mean metal concentrations in fish species, in mg/kg wet weight (ww), were as follows: Cr, 0.11-0.46; Ni, 0.77-2.6; Cu, 0.57-2.1; As, 0.43-1.7; Cd, 0.020-0.23; and Pb, 0.15-1.1. Target hazard quotients (THQs) and target carcinogenic risk (TR) showed the intake of As and Pb through fish consumption were higher than the recommended values, indicating the consumption of these fish species is associated with noncarcinogenic and carcinogenic health risks.
Keywords: Bangladesh; bioaccumulation; fish; health risk; metal pollution; sediment.