Mercury and other trace metals (Ag, Cr, Co, and Ni) in soft tissue and byssus of Mytilus edulis from the east coast of Kyushu Island, Japan

Concentrations of Hg and other metals such as Ag, Cr, Co and Ni in soft tis sues and byssi of the blue mussel (Mytilus edulis) from three sites along t he east coast of Kyushu Island, Japan, were determined by a cold-vapor tech nique. Large inter-regional differences in metal concentrations in both sof t tissues and byssi were observed. The tissue concentrations of Hg were sig nificantly greater in M. edulis from the most contaminated locations (Sagan oseki) compared to those from a non-industrialized area (Urashiro). It is e vident that, compared to the soft tissue, byssus is a more sensitive biomon itor for Hg, Cr, Co and Ni. From the data obtained in the present study evi dently results that the soft tissue and especially byssi of M. edulis appea r to be good bioindicators for identification of coastal areas exposed to H g contaminants. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.