Mercury in the Oriental Sole (Brachirus orientalis) Near a Chlor-Alkali Plant in the Persian Gulf, Iran M. Haghighat • M. Savabieasfahani • Y. Nikpour • H. Pashazanoosi Received: 12 November 2010 / Accepted: 16 March 2011 / Published online: 27 March 2011 Ó Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2011 Abstract Total mercury in muscle and liver of Oriental sole from the largest inlet in the Persian Gulf was evalu- ated. Fish were collected from three channels of Moses Inlet near a chlor-alkali plant. Ahamdi and Jafari channels were closest to this plant and Ghanam was farther away. We sampled in August 2007 and February 2008. The overall estimated marginal mean for total mercury in sole tissue was 2.4 ± 0.1 mg/kg wet weight. Mercury in fish was similar in August and February; but muscle from Ahmadi contained higher mercury in August (1 ± 0.2) than in February (0.5 ± 0.01). This trend was reversed in the liver (1.3 ± 0.2 and 3.7 ± 0.3). Keywords Mercury Á Oriental sole (B. orientalis) Á Muscle Á Liver Á Persian Gulf Á Chlor-alkali plant Mercury (Hg) pollution is a growing global concern and worldwide. Mercury pollution has increased as much as two– tenfold during the past one and half centuries (Rasmussen et al. 2007; Swain et al. 1992). Universally, it is recognized that the incorporation of Hg into the food chain and its assimilation by humans is a potential health hazard. More recently studies in the Amazonian aquatic ecosystems have clearly linked Hg ingestion through fish consumption to public health issues (Peixoto Boischio and Henshel 2000). Mercury pollution by Hg cell chlor-alkali plants has extensively been examined. Human populations living near oceans, lakes, or rivers that accommodate industries, and depend on local catch for food, exhibit high levels of Hg exposure (Pirrone and Mahaffey 2005). Mercury levels in fish depend on fish species and the position of the fish in the trophic chain. Fish that occupy higher trophic levels tend to accumulate more Hg; carnivorous fish accumulate more Hg in their tissues. Classic cases of Hg impact on human health come from studies on the Japanese popula- tion which consumed fish from Minamata Bay, Japan (Harada 1978) and on toxic effects of Hg on Iraqis who, not knowingly, consumed seeds ‘‘dressed’’ in Hg (Bakir et al. 1973). More recent studies have found neurobehavioral deficits in fish-consuming Brazilian populations (Dolbec et al. 2000) and along the English-Wabigoon River in Canada (Wheatley 1997). Oriental sole feeds on bottom-living small crustaceans which bioaccumulate Hg readily. Fish can take up Hg from water column and food directly and bioconcentrate large amounts of Hg in their tissues, methylmercury being the dominant forms of fish Hg. Costal populations in the Persian Gulf heavily depend on Oriental sole for food (Kazemi 2003) and can therefore be at risk for Hg poisoning. Moses Inlet (30°28 0 11 00 North and 49°12 0 10 00 East, to 30°24 0 6 00 North and 48°55 0 19 00 East) covers an area of 1,350 km 2 (Fig. 1). It houses an active port, an area of oil and gas mining, a petrochemical facility, and a chlor-alkali plant which has been in intermittent use for the past 15 years. This plant is equipped with a treatment facility. According to a government report, dating back to 1998, approximately 31,000 kg of Hg was released in 3 months from this facility. The ecologic significance of the Moses Inlet is attributed to its function as a reservoir that provides adjacent coasts with eggs, larvae and organisms, thereby M. Haghighat Á Y. Nikpour Á H. Pashazanoosi Marine Biology Department, Khorramshahr University of Marine Science and Technology, P. O. Box 669, Khorramshahr, Khuzestan, Iran M. Savabieasfahani (&) P. O. Box 7038, Ann Arbor, MI 48107, USA e-mail: mozhgan_savabieasfahani@hotmail.com 123 Bull Environ Contam Toxicol (2011) 86:515–520 DOI 10.1007/s00128-011-0254-7