Arsenic in Caribbean bivalves in the context of Sargassum beachings: A new risk for seafood consumers

Modestin, E., Devault, D.A., Baylet, A. et al. Arsenic in Caribbean bivalves in the context of Sargassum beachings: A new risk for seafood consumers. Environ. Monit. Assess. 194, 553 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-022-10230-5

Sargassum strandings in the coastal environment can introduce arsenic into food webs. In this context, we assessed the risk of exposure to arsenic for consumers of Caribbean bivalves. In 2019, specimens of Asaphis deforata and Phacoides pectinatus were collected in an Atlantic coastal zone of Martinique (island) to monitor the presence of arsenic species by LC-ICP-MS.

The total arsenic (tAs) concentrations were, on average, 34.4±3.8 and 76.9±22.3 µg. g⁻¹ dry weight for P. pectinatus and A. deforata, respectively. Seven compounds of arsenic were detected in bivalve soft bodies. In P. pectinatus, monomethylarsonic acid was present at a relatively significant concentration (≈ 29.6%). These results were coupled with survey data collected in 2013 and again in 2019, from the main consumers of bivalves. The tAs intake was up to 6 mg. day⁻¹ for a 240 g (wet weight) meal of bivalves. In addition, we proposed toxicological reference doses also based on detected toxic forms of arsenic and tested their relevance.

We concluded that monitoring of total arsenic would be sufficient to ensure the protection of bivalve consumers. Consumption patterns expose consumers to a potential health risk. However, due to a decrease in consumption frequency associated with the depletion of bivalve resources by decomposing Sargassum mats, arsenic exposure has decreased.

In the French Caribbean, this is the first study on the risk of human arsenic contamination from the ingestion of bivalves. This study is a contribution to the monitoring of arsenic in the Caribbean coastal environment.

BOREA contact: Franck Dolique