Arsenic in Bosnia and Herzegovina market seafood: Effects of matrix modifiers on measured concentration
Arsenic concentration in seafood could potentially reach very high levels and represent a significant health risk for humans. In this study, the concentration of arsenic in various seafood: crabs (shrimp, prawns), molluscs (mussels), and cephalopods (squid) available both fresh on the market and frozen in supermarkets in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina were determined by the electrothermal atomic absorption spectrometry (ETAAS). The results obtained using different matrix modifiers: Mg(NO3)2, Ni(NO3)2, Pd(NO3)2, and mixture Pd(NO3)2 + Mg(NO3)2 were compared. The best recovery rate of 98.4 % arsenic for the reference material ERM-CE278k, was achieved after the addition of the mixture Pd(NO3)2 + Mg(NO3)2 . The mean arsenic concentrations were 1.551 ? 0.836 mg kg-1 1.298 ? 0.410 mg kg-1, and 2.794 ? 0.958 mg kg-1 for crustaceans, molluscs and cephalopods, respectively, by using mixture Pd(NO3)2 + Mg(NO3)2 as matrix modifier. Arsenic concentrations in the same sample measured using different matrix modifiers varied widely, even above 70 %. With the current consumption rate of seafood products, both cancerogenic and non-cancerogenic risks associated with exposure to arsenic through seafood are very low for the residents of Bosnia and Herzegovina.