Exposure assessment and safe intake guidelines for heavy metals in consumed fishery products in the Republic of Korea.

Heavy metals in food are non-intentional pollutants such as lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), and mercury (Hg). Pb, a neurotoxic substance, is classified as a possible carcinogen for humans (group 2B) by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) under the World Health Organization (WHO). Cd, a substance that causes kidney damage, is classified as a substance that causes human cancer (group 1). In this study, inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-AES) and a mercury analyzer (MA) were used to identify the concentrations of heavy metals (Pb, Cd, Hg) in fishery products and to assess the effects of chronic human exposure to heavy metals via fisheries consumption. Food consumption data were obtained from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES 2010-2015), and the mean exposure concentrations for Pb, Cd, and Hg were 0.0067 μg/kg bw/day, 1.1277 μg/kg bw/month, and 0.0872 μg/kg bw/week, respectively. Exposures to Pb, Cd, and Hg using the 95th percentile of the consumption data were 0.0183 μg/kg bw/day, 4.0230 μg/kg bw/month, and 0.2268 μg/kg bw/week, respectively, corresponding to 3, 16, and 6% of the human exposure safety standard. Safe guidelines for the intake of fishery products are proposed to reduce the exposure to and accumulation of heavy metals in humans.