Bioaccumulation of Trace Elements in Soft Tissues of the Clam Larkinia grandis from Southeastern Gulf of California: Baseline Levels and Health Risk Assessment.

The bioaccumulation of trace elements (TEs) in the soft tissue of the clam Larkinia grandis from the Gulf of California (GC) and the risk of its consumption are still unknown. We evaluated the levels of aluminum (Al), arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), lead (Pb), and zinc (Zn) in the digestive gland, mantle, gills, gonad, and adductor muscle of L. grandis from the southeastern GC, collected bimonthly from August 2017 to June 2018. The concentrations of the studied elements (mg kg wet weight) presented the following decreasing order of abundance: Fe (62.7 ± 48.6) > Al (22.1 ± 13.5) > Zn (12.1 ± 1.4) > Cu (7.4 ± 1.5) ≥ As (6.9 ± 2.1) > Mn (2.6 ± 1.9) ≥ Cd (2.5 ± 1.1) > Pb (1.4 ± 0.4). Clam shell length and total weight were correlated with Cu concentrations in the digestive gland and gills (r = 0.95 and 0.92; r = 0.94 and 0.90, respectively) and Fe concentrations in the digestive gland (r = 0.97 and 0.91) (p < 0.05). Cadmium and Pb concentrations exceeded the maximum permissible limits established by the Mexican Official Standard (NOM-242-SSA1-2009) for safe human consumption. However, the human health risk assessment indices associated with clam consumption were low (Target Hazard Quotient and Hazard Index < 1). Due to the constant anthropogenic input in the region, continued research to more accurately assess the bioaccumulation dynamics of TEs in this clam and their relationship to the risk to human health from its consumption is a priority.