Metal concentrations in marine fish and shellfish from Boston and Salem harbors, and coastal Massachusetts : progress report / [book]

Nina M. Duston, Carol A. Batdorf, Jack P. Schwartz
1990 unpublished
Trace element levels were measured in the softshell clam Mya arenaria, blue mussel, Mytilis edulis, surf clam, Spisula solidissima, ocean quahog, Arctica islandica, American lobster, Homarus americanus 1 and winter flounder, Pseudopleuronectes americanus. Softshell clams were collected in Boston and Salem Harbor. Surf clams, blue mussels, and ocean quahogs were collected in randomly selected areas of Coastal Massachusetts. Lobster and flounder were also collected in the two harbors and random
more » ... astal areas. The survey was undertaken as part of the Division of Marine Fisheries Contaminant Monitoring Program and consisted of tests for six metals: cadmium, chromium, copper, mercury, lead, and zinc. Edible tissue was prepared from each species. Metals, exclusive of mercury, were extracted with hot concentrated nitric acid/30% hydrogen peroxide. Mercury was extracted from a separate subsample with warm nitric/sulfuric acid and potassium permanganate/potassium persulfate solutions. Mercury concentrations were determined by cold vapor atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS). The other five metals were analyzed using flame AAS. Metal levels for each species were compared with results from other surveys conducted in the New England coastal areas and Boston and Salem Harbors. Metal concentrations of all species were similar to results reported elsewhere. Significant intraspecies and interspecies variations in metal concentrations appear in samples collected over a period of three years (1984 -1986).
doi:10.5962/bhl.title.62699 fatcat:2bogq6go5bfnjiewcgiklvxyia