Heavy Metal Content and Health Condition of Green Mussel (Perna viridis L.) in Capiz, Philippines

Abstract

Capiz, being dubbed as the “Seafood Capital of the Philippines,†promotes production of shellfishes. Green mussel (<i>Perna viridis</i> L.) which is an important shellfish in the province especially in the municipalities of Sapian and Ivisan needs investigation in terms of their health and heavy metal contents to assure the consumers of their food safety. An exploration study on green mussel samples and surface sediments of these two sites were done last Summer of 2013. Allometric parameters to determine volume of sixty samples were obtained from each of the two municipality sites with three sampling stations each (twenty samples from each sampling station) were measured using vernier caliper and their soft tissues were oven-dried. Surface sediments (0-10 cm deep) near the mussel habitat were also collected, air-dried, and sealed. Levels of heavy metals in the mussel and sediment samples were analyzed using acetylene Flame Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. Condition Index and Bivalve Sediment Accumulation Factor were computed. Condition index (CI) which measures health of the mussels was significantly higher in Ivisan than those from Sapian. Only cadmium and lead levels of mussel tissues were significantly higher in Sapian and the rest were not significant. All levels of the four metals (Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn) were within the safety limit set by four international health standard groups except by US EPA/FDA (Cd and Pb). Ivisan had higher Bivalve Sediment Accumulation Factor for cadmium metal and the rest were found higher in Sapian, though the margin was not too high.