Ocena skażeń pierwiastkami toksycznymi zwierząt łownych w Polsce w latach 2001-2012

The aim of this study was to assess the degree of contamination of boar, roe deer and red deer (muscle, liver) tissue with toxic elements in the last 12 years and to determine the causes of risks for game meat consumers. The tissues collected from wild game, including 571 wild boars, 305 roe deer and 420 red deer were examined for lead, cadmium, mercury and arsenic content. Determining the content of lead, cadmium, mercury and arsenic was conducted using several techniques of atomic absorption spectrometry. The procedures used in metal determinations were elaborated and validated, and are regularly checked in intralaboratory and interlaboratory comparisons. It was stated that lead constitutes the most serious toxicological problem within the group of analyzed metals. The average concentration of this element over 12 years in the muscles of boar, roe and deer was respectively: 0.280 mg/kg, 0.224 mg/kg and 0.152 mg/kg. The average values for liver reached a much lower level and were as follows: 0.107 mg/kg, 0.111 mg/kg and 0.136 mg/kg. Such a reversal of the relationship between the size of the concentration in the muscles and organs indicates that the source of lead contamination in game animals is primarily a secondary pollution from gunshot wounds rather than an environmental one. The percentage of muscle samples tested in 2001-2012 with values above a tolerable limit of lead was about 10%, and the highest number of samples was found in 2001 and 2002. A significant proportion of samples with high levels of lead pose a particular threat to human health even in low consumption of game animal meat. The observed concentration levels of cadmium, mercury and arsenic in the examined tissues of wild game indicate that they are mainly associated with environmental pollution.