Cadmium analyses of seafood and local freshwater fish

CHED 817

Stephanie K. Waterman, Suzanne Sander, and Carolyn D. Shomin.
Small quantities of cadmium exist naturally in the environment, but larger quantities are released due to metal smelting, recycling plants, phosphate fertilizers, and sewage wastes. Common sources of cadmium in the human diet are seafood, leafy green vegetables, and cigarettes. For this study, seafood samples were purchased from a local wholesale seafood market and fish were collected from the area, including the Missouri River. All samples were tested for cadmium content within muscle tissue. Examination involved a digestion in concentrated nitric acid followed by an analysis with a Buck Scientific Model 210 atomic absorption spectrometer at 228.8 nm. A standard reference material (1577b, bovine liver) from NIST was purchased and analyzed to verify the digestion/analysis method. Current results indicate detectable quantities of cadmium present in oysters from the Pacific ocean.