Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology 95 (2022) 103969 Available online 6 September 2022 1382-6689/© 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Bio-accumulation and health risk assessment of heavy metals in different edible fsh species from Hurghada City, Red Sea, Egypt Ghada Y. Zaghloul *, 1 , Heba M. Ezz El-Din 1 , Lamiaa I. Mohamedein 1 , Khalid M. El-Moselhy 1 National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries, NIOF, Egypt A R T I C L E INFO Edited by Silvia Franzellitti Keywords: Bio-accumulation THQ HI TDI Heavy metals Risk assessment Fish Red Sea Egypt ABSTRACT Background: Heavy metal contamination has become a serious issue in this century especially detected in fsh organs. Due to the presence of radioactive compounds in agricultural and sewage effuent, which destroys aquatic ecosystems, threatening human livelihoods. Health hazards associated with low and high consumption consumers assessed in fve commercial fsh species collected from Hurghada City, Egypt, during winter and summer, 2020. Atomic absorption spectrophotometer technique used for determination heavy meals in different organs and expressed as μg/g wet weight. Results: Heavy metal concentrations in muscle ranged between:(0.054–0.109), (0.260–1.043), (0.264–0.897), (5.895–11.898), (0.381–0.970), (13.582–29.133) and (0.332–0.589) µg/g for Cd, Pb, Mn, Zn, Cu, Fe and Ni respectively, which were lower than those of gills and liver. These concentrations were within WHO, FAO/WHO, and EU standards. Consumption of edible species was lower than the (TDIs) established by the (JECFA) and Egyptian Standards. Even though THQ and TTHQ values were < 1 while, in children with highly consumer were> 1. Conclusion: This study concluded that intake of Red Sea fsh is safe for human health. It is critical for consumers to be aware of the consequences of excessive fsh consumption, particularly children with highly consumer, which represent possible health risks. 1. Introduction Heavy metal contamination is a problem in the twenty-frst century, and it is a prevalent form of pollution caused by a variety of factors such as agriculture, sewage, wastewater, oil pollution, and radioactive chemicals. Hazardous metals are regarded as a severe hazard in aquatic systems, ranging from natural weathering to human activities in marine environments (Coffe, 2014). Anthropogenic activities are the primary producers of heavy metal pollutants, which become harmful when present at levels above threshold values (Fallah et al., 2011). The process of estimating the type and likelihood of adverse health consequences in individuals who may be exposed to chemicals in polluted environmental media now or in the future is known as human health risk assessment. Metals may accumulate in the tissues of fsh and marine species. It may be regarded a true indication of harmful chemical bioaccumulation in the environment, and its study can provide an estimate of contaminant exposure risk to consumers (Kojadinovic et al., 2007). Fish are at the top of the food chain and provide people with a balanced nutritious diet, low-calorie, high-quality protein, important nutrients, omega-3 fatty acids, and are low in saturated fat. Contaminants may build in fsh tis- sues and be passed on to people (Yılmaz et al., 2010 and Zhao et al., 2012). Pollution bio-monitoring is carried out using several organs of fsh. Because of its role in fsh metabolism, the liver is an important organ in heavy metal accumulation (Squadrone et al., 2013); gills have a large surface area exposed to water in fsh, absorbing the appropriate amount of metal ions (Dhaneesh et al., 2012); and muscle is important in the human diet and used as an excellent tool for the health risk assess- ment in heavy metal pollution (Yi et al., 2017; Sadeghi et al., 2019). Copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) are necessary elements in the development of certain particular metabolic activities of biological systems and are required in modest amounts in living organisms; nonetheless, their defciency or excess may cause health concerns (Keshavarzi et al., 2018). Nonessential metals, such as Cd and Pb, are hazardous elements with no biological purpose and may cause cancer. They can also contribute to poor mental health in children and increased cardiovascular disease in adults, as well as renal and reproductive abnormalities (Ahmed et al., * Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: yaheaghada1@yahoo.com, gy.zaghloul@niof.sci.rg (G.Y. Zaghloul). 1 Marine Chemistry Lab National Institute of Oceanography and Fisheries,Egypt Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/etap https://doi.org/10.1016/j.etap.2022.103969 Received 8 May 2022; Received in revised form 17 August 2022; Accepted 30 August 2022