A Survey of the Total Cadmium Content of 406 Fish from 49 New York State Fresh Waters

Abstract

Fish from New York State fresh waters were surveyed for total cadmium. The majority of samples contained 20 ppb or below. The remainder showed concentrations up to 100 ppb with only few above this concentration. Fishes from central New York waters rarely contained cadmium greater than 20 ppb. Fish from Adirondack waters contained cadmium above 20 ppb most consistently. These higher concentrations may be related to generally higher background cadmium levels in this Adirondack area where many metallic ore deposits are located with which cadmium is typically associated. Cadmium accumulation only occasionally appeared species-dependent. No relation was obvious between total residues of the metal and size or sex of fish or age of lake trout. The cadmium concentrations observed are comparable to those commonly present in many other foods.