Organ-specific bioaccumulation and deterministic health risk assessment of selected heavy metal(loid)s in commercial fish from a southern harbor region (Nagapattinam)

Introduction Heavy metal contamination of coastal waters results in bioaccumulation in fish, posing a significant route of human exposure via seafood consumption. The present study focuses on organ-specific metal distribution and associated health risk indices in three important fish species from the Nagapattinam coast, India. Methods In the current study, three species of fish ( Nemipterus japonicus , Oreochromis mossambicus , and Lates calcarifer ) were considered with three biological replicates per species obtained from local fish markets of Nagapattinam, Tamil Nadu, India, during January–February 2024. The HM profiling was performed on three organs: liver, gills, and muscle tissues. HMs, including arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), mercury (Hg), lead (Pb), strontium (Sr), and vanadium (V), were analyzed using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Results The concentrations were found to be in the range of 0.025–21.53 μg kg −1 . Upon non-carcinogenic risk assessment, the target hazard quotient (THQ) for all species was found to be