Publications (3)1.02 Total impact
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Article: Total mercury and methylmercury accumulation in the muscle tissue of frigate (Auxis thazard thazard) and yellow fin (Thunnus albacares) tuna from the Gulf of Guinea, Ghana.
Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology 06/2006; 76(5):840-7. · 1.02 Impact Factor -
Article: Determination of methylmercury in marine and freshwater fish in Ghana using a combined technique of dithizone extraction and gas–liquid chromatography with electron capture detection
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ABSTRACT: Concentrations of methylmercury (MeHg) residues were determined in different marine and freshwater fishes from Ghana. Samples were treated with ethanolic potassium hydroxide in water bath at 100 °C for 1 h. After neutralising with HCl and washing with hexane, MeHg was extracted with dithizone in toluene, cleaned up and determined by gas chromatography with electron capture detection (GC–ECD). The method was sensitive with good precision, detection limit of 0.0005 μg g−1 (0.5 μg kg−1) and provided good separation for organomercury compounds. The validity of the method was established using dogfish muscle certified reference material, DORM-2. The method was applied to different fish species. Concentration of MeHg in the edible muscle tissue of the tested fish ranged from 0.009 to 0.107 μg g−1 wet weight. The concentrations of MeHg in the fish samples obtained do not however, constitute any significant mercury exposure to the general population through consumption of the tested fish species.Food Chemistry. 124(3):1244-1248. -
Article: Determination of mercury in fish by cold vapour atomic absorption spectrometry using an automatic mercury analyzer
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ABSTRACT: The concentration of mercury in fish samples from the Atlantic coast of Ghana was determined using a simple, rapid and accurate method. A mixture of HNO3, HClO4 and H2SO4 was used for complete oxidation of organic tissue. Mercury is detected by the cold vapour atomic absorption spectrometry technique using an automatic mercury analyzer developed at the National Institute for Minamata Disease (NIMD). In total, 56 samples covering 13 species of fish were analysed for total mercury. The concentration of mercury in the edible muscle tissue of these fish ranged from 0.004 to 0.122 μg g−1 wet weight. All fish species sampled had concentrations less than the WHO limit of 0.5 μg g−1 wet weight. The low concentrations of mercury detected in the samples do not constitute any significant mercury exposure to the general population through fish consumption.Food Chemistry.