DOI: 10.36347/sajb.2021.v09i10.001

Pages: 256-258

Level of heavy metals like Cadmium (Cd) and Lead (Pb) in bivalves has been intensively studied during recent years as these hazardous substances could be accumulated in the biota and has been a hot issue in marine environmental studies. By consuming the shellfish, risk of bivalve related diseases may increase. And this shellfish poisoning is a concern to public health. This research study aims to determine if the Bivalves in Cagayan Valley, Philippines is safe to consume. The Freshwater clam (Corbicula fluminea) and the Marine mussel (Mytilus edulis) in Cagayan Valley, Philippines was collected for this study. The byssus and shells were removed, leaving only soft tissues to be used for the analysis and they were categorized into two. Graphite Furnace- Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (GFAAS) was used to determine the concentrations of Cadmium (Cd) and Lead (Pb). The results showed that the Freshwater bivalves Corbicula fluminea has a concentration 0.006 μg/g of Lead (Pb) and a concentration 0.016 μg/g. of Cadmium (Cd) while for Marine bivalves Mytilus edulis, the concentration of Pb was 0.011 μg/g and the concentration of Cd levels was 0.015 μg/g. The test results showed that the heavy metals, lead, and cadmium, were at low levels when referred to guidelines on heavy metals for food safety by different countries, particularly Malaysia. Thus, the results that were found were quite lower and there are no health risks to the people when consuming these bivalves collected from the province of Cagayan. Based on the results of the study conducted, the researchers recommend using different bivalve species to know the levels of heavy metals on bivalve species, investigate lead and cadmium heavy metals concentrations of one species collected in different areas/locations in Cagayan Valley and investigate the lead and cadmium heavy metal concentration of different bivalves in a regular basis i.e., monthly, or quarterly for at least 1 year.