Heavy Metal Concentration in the Gut of the Edible Crab (Uca Tangeri) in the New Calabar and Brass Rivers, Niger Delta Nigeria

The concentration of the heavy metals lead (Pb), iron (Fe), nickel (Ni) and chromium (Cr) was examined in the gut of the edible land crab (Uca tangeri) in the New Calabar and Brass rivers respectively. This was done in order to ascertain the amount of heavy metals in the crab samples and its implication on human health and safety as a result of bioaccumulation and bio-magnification respectively. Crab samples from the New Calabar and Brass rivers were obtained in triplicates and transported to the Chemical Science Laboratory of the Niger Delta University. They were oven dried and the gut contents analysed using the atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS).Data were subjected to calculations of means, standard deviation and the use of T-test to compare means. This was aided by the use of the SPSS® 21.0 software. Result showed significant difference (P<0.05) in all metal parameters between the Brass and New Calabar rivers. All metal parameters are lower than the international permissible limit. It can therefore be concluded that eating crabs from these rivers do not portend an immediate danger to human health and safety. However, the consumption of one too many crabs may result in health issues because of the risk of bioaccumulation. Also, we therefore discourage future anthropogenic inputs as further additions may radically change the health dynamics of consuming these fishery products.