1 Citation: Don-Lawson Chioma et al (2021). Determination of Heavy Metals in Salt Water Periwinkle and Fresh Water Periwinkle in Port-Harcourt, Rivers-State. Sch Int J Chem Mater Sci, 4(1): 1-5. Scholars International Journal of Chemistry and Material Sciences Abbreviated Key Title: Sch Int J Chem Mater Sci ISSN 2616-8669 (Print) |ISSN 2617-6556 (Online) Scholars Middle East Publishers, Dubai, United Arab Emirates Journal homepage: http://saudijournals.com Original Research Article Determination of Heavy Metals in Salt Water Periwinkle and Fresh Water Periwinkle in Port-Harcourt, Rivers-State Don-Lawson Chioma, Nweneka Daniel Okechukwu, Oka Reminus * Department of Science Laboratory Technology, School of Science and Technology Captain Elechi Amadi Polytechnic, Rumuola, Rivers State, Captain Elechi Amadi Polytechnic, Rumuomei 100001, Port Harcourt, Nigeria DOI: 10.36348/sijcms.2021.v04i01.001 | Received: 26.12.2020 | Accepted: 11.01.2021 | Published: 14.01.2021 *Corresponding author: Oka Reminus Abstract This study of the composition of heavy metal, lead, iron, zinc and mercury in periwinkle tissues (Tympanotonosfiiscatus) were determined from different sampling stations in Mgbuoshimini Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria, using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS). The results obtained from the analysis of salt water and fresh water periwinkle tissues indicated lead 18.62%, iron 70.08%, mercury 11.20% and zinc 53.34% and that of fresh water periwinkle includes 17.48%, 71.79%, mercury 10.71% and zinc 48.28% by percentage conversion. This comparative analysis implies that the fresh water periwinkle tissues have higher concentrations of iron and zinc which can be attributed to the dissolved mineral resources available in both salt and fresh water bodies. However, the concentrations of lead and mercury in these water bodies are above threshold limit which is quite a potential hazard for sea foods. In conclusion, comparison between the two water bodies showed that tissue samples from fresh water had higher concentration of metals in relation to salt water indicating potentials for accumulation, mainly due to differences in anthropogenic activities. Hg, Zn, Fe and Pb concentrations in tissue had values higher than the recommended limits in seafood by FAO/WHO however, regular monitoring is required to observe perturbations. In addition, sea foods obtained from the salt and fresh water bodies are potential sources of heavy metal poisoning, due to industrialization and non-regulatory use of the water bodies, thus, calls for adequate legislation and proper orientation on the use and protection of water bodies from heavy metalpoisoning. Keyword: Periwinkle, Lead, Freshwater, Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. Copyright © 2021 The Author(s): This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0) which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium for non-commercial use provided the original author and source are credited. INTRODUCTION Human activities has resulted to the pollution of the aquatic environment with heavy metals which has become a worldwide problem in recent years as reported by [3, 15] because they are indestructible and most of them have toxic effects on organisms (biotic andAbiotic factors). Many aquatic organisms for example Periwinkles have the ability to accumulate and biomagnify contaminants like heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon in the environment. Among environmental pollutants, metals are of particular concern, due to their potential toxic effect and ability to bioaccumulate in aquatic ecosystems [6]. Studies on heavy metals in rivers, lakes, fish and sediments have been a major environmental focus especially during the last decade and heavy metals contamination of coastal water and sediment have been identified as a serious pollution resulting from industrialization according to [3, 21] Heavy metals contamination of river water is one of the major quality issues in fast growing cities because maintenance of water quality and sanitation infra-structure do not increase along with population and urbanization grow the specially in developing countries. Heavy metals and other fluvialcontaminantsinsuspensionor solution, do simply flow down the stream, form complexes with other compounds and settle to the bottom and are ingested by plants and animals or adsorbed to the sediment as reported by [14]. Consequently, aquatic organisms may acquire heavy metals into their body as reported by [9]. In this study, pollutants such as Hg, Pb, Fe and Zn were considered which are capable of bioaccumulation in the tissues of aquatic organisms. Monitoring of levels of contaminants in environmental receptors can include the measurement of bioaccumulation and toxicants in the bodie so for ganisms according to [20]. Some invertebrates especially molluscs and crustaceans can accumulate heavy metals in hundredfoldsandthereforecanraisethelevelwhichmaybeo fnosignificanceinwatertothepoint at which their tissue