Toxicological health risk analysis of hazardous trace elements accumulation in the edible fish species of the Black Sea in Türkiye using multivariate statistical and spatial assessment

In the current study, the levels of eleven hazardous trace elements (HTEs) were measured in five different fish species frequently consumed in eleven cities along the Black Sea coast of Türkiye. And also the maximum permissible limits (MPLs) specified by international standards are compared to 11 HTEs levels. In addition, human health risk levels from fish consumption were assessed using multiple approaches. The highest metal concentrations of Fe, Mn, Co, Cr, Ni, Cd and Hg were detected in the fish sampled from Samsun city. It was determined that Cu, Zn, Pb and As metal concentrations were the highest in fish sampled from Düzce city. In the demersal Mullus barbatus (MB), the highest quantities of As, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Hg, and Pb were discovered. The highest concentrations of Zn and Cd were found in Engraulis encrasicolus (EE), which is a topminnow fish. The highest concentrations of Cu were found in Sarda sarda (SS), which is a topminnow fish. For all HTEs, the metal hazard index (MPI) and target hazard quotients (THQ) from metal intake by ingesting fish species were less than 1, indicating no risk from consumption. All investigated fish species were acceptable (10^-4 to 10^-6) in terms of carcinogenic risks (CR) from exposure to inorganic arsenic (_iAs). Additionally, because the hazard index (HI) is less than 1, it has been determined that consuming certain fish species will not pose a risk to public health. The predicted daily intakes of HTEs in each fish species were far lower than their corresponding acceptable daily intakes, indicating that consuming fish would not put consumers at risk for health problems from daily intakes of HTEs. In addition, the multivariate statistical analysis justified that HTEs were from anthropogenic and lithogenic origin.