Toxicity and Traces of Hg, Pb and Cd in the Hepatopancreas, Gills and Muscles of Perna viridis from Jakarta Bay, Indonesia

Heavy metals contamination on the coast of Jakarta Bay has led to the level of pollution and can cause toxicity to organisms living in the sea, i.e., green mussels. Green mussels have the ability to detoxify metals entering their bodies. Their ability to accumulate metals is higher than other aquatic animals. This is due to their sedentary life which prevents them from avoiding the effects of pollution and their high tolerance to certain metals. The high concentration of metal content would be toxic to the cell because metal ions can act as oxidants and bind to organic and protein molecules. The results of the study showed that traces of heavy metals were detected in the hepatopancreas, gills, muscles and gonads organs of the mussels living in the waters of Muara Angke. Lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) were found in all four organs, while mercury (Hg) was not detected in the muscles. Traces of Hg and Cd were not detected in hepatopancreas, gills, muscles and gonads of green mussels in Panimbang, while Pb was detected by 0.00 1 in the male gonads and 0.01 in hepatopancreas. The concentration of Pb in the male gonads are still below the acceptable limit and concentration of Pb in the hepatopancreas is relatively equivalent to the acceptable limit. Metal detection in the organs above shows that the Muara Angke waters tend to be polluted and have an impact on the mussels weight loss as a result of heavy metal toxicity.