Occurrence and Health Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in the Blue Land Crab (Cardisoma guanhumi) from a Tropical Mangrove Swamp.

Coastal ecosystems in the Caribbean are vulnerable to pollution from land-based activities with possible impacts to human health. Ten heavy metals in the blue land crab, Cardisoma guanhumi, harvested from the Caroni Swamp, Trinidad, were investigated in the wet and dry seasons. Metal concentrations (µg g dry weight) in crab tissue were: As (0.15-6.46), Ba (0.69-19.64), Cd (< 0.001-3.36), Cr (0.63-3.64), Cu (26.64-120.31), Hg (0.09-1.83), Ni (1.21-9.33), Se (0.19-1.55), V (0.16-0.69) and Zn (121.06-494.3). There were seasonal differences in the concentration of some heavy metals and, Cu and Zn exceeded the local maximum permissible levels for fish and shellfish at several sites in either one or both seasons. Health risk assessment based on estimated daily intake, target hazard quotient and hazard index revealed that Cardisoma guanhumi harvested from the Caroni Swamp, does not pose a health risk to consumers.