Contamination of slaughter animals and fish by mercury in the Grodno region

The purpose of study was to establish the degree of mercury contamination of chosen products of animal origin in the Grodno region and to compare it with the level found in Poland, Samples of muscles, kidney and adipose tissue from beef cattle, swine and sheep were collected. It was found that the level of mercury in the tissues of slaughter animals was low, not exceeding the accepted limits in Poland. The lowest mercury concentrations were observed in the vicinity closest to Grodno and were similar to those found in the Dabrowa Bialostocka region on the Polish side of the border; however, at the distances further from Grodno towards the east, the mercury levels were higher. The flesh of fish caught in the Grodno region had relatively low concentrations of mercury, i.e. 10 fold lower than the levels accepted for food products in Poland.