Assessment of lead, cadmium, chrome, iron, zinc and copper levels in tissues of Cyprinus carpio from Atatürk Dam Lake (Adıyaman) in relation to human health

Atatürk Dam Lake, which was established on the Euphrates River for agricultural irrigation and electricity generation, is the largest dam lake in Turkey. Many fish species, which are the primary food source for humans, live in the dam lake. Therefore, a possible pollution in this dam will adversely affect not only fish but also human health. For this purpose, in this study, lead, cadmium, chromium, iron, zinc and copper levels were measured in the liver, gill and muscle tissues of Cyprinus carpio, which was the food source of the local people, caught from two different regions (Sitilce and Samsat) of the dam lake in August and September in 2021. In our study, it was not detected lead in all tissues and cadmium in gill and muscle tissues of fish from both regions. It was found that the levels of all metals found in the fish of the Sitilce region, which was highly affected by pollution until the Adıyaman city and industrial wastewater treatment plant started operating in 2016 and 2017, were not statistically different from the fish of the Samsat region, which is a relatively clean region (except liver iron level only). Our research results showed that the heavy metal levels in muscle tissue of C. carpio were below the legally permissible limits in terms of nutritional safety and human consumption. In addition, when compared with previous studies, it was determined that there was a decrease in heavy metal levels in the tissues of fish after wastewater treatment plants.