The levels of heavy metals in (Mytilus galloprovincialis Lamarck, 1819) the Mediterranean mussel; examples of Giresun coasts

The heavy metal accumulation levels in the soft tissue of mussel (Mytilus galloprovincialis Lamarck, 1819 )individuals, collected from eight stations along the 122 km long Giresun coast, were investigated. The eight stations were chosen based on town centers along the coast. Before performance of heavy metal analyses, the mean length and weight were calculated. The extract ions of mussel were made in microwave digestion program as wet weight. The heavy metals (Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, As,Se, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb ve Zn) were determined by using ICP MS. The results were given as μg/g in wet weight mean ± SE; Cr; 0,56 ± 0,03, Mn; 6,23 ± 0,38, Ni; 12,70 ± 1,01,Zn; 69,06 ± 4,20, Co; 1,97 ± 0,07, Cu; 2,65 ± 0,18, Fe; 161,08 ± 15,89, As; 3,16 ± 0,11, Se; 0,62 ± 0,05, Pb; 3,16 ± 0,08. The Metal concentrations in descending order were as follow; Fe > Zn > Ni > Mn > As > Pb > Cu > Co > Se > Cr, respectively. The length and weight distribution of mussel samples were significantly different between some stations (p<0.05). It can beconcludedthat the heavy metal levels of mussels, from Giresun coasts, should pose no health problems for consumers. Key Words: Black Sea, Giresun,Mussel,Mytilus galloprovincialis,Heavy metals