Mercury is a chemical that poses a significant problem to health of the population. It is known that the main source of mercury intake into the human body is fish consumed as food [1]. It has been found that mercury content in the body increases with the amount of fish in the weekly diet [2].
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO/WHO), European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recommend that the safety of fish and seafood in the diet be evaluated based on a calculation of the safe dose of mercury ingested over time (RFD).
When accumulated in the body, mercury has a neurotoxic effect, negatively affects the cardiovascular system, reproductive function and leads to disorders of embryonic development [37]. In addition, elevated mercury levels in mothers during pregnancy can further lead to a delay in mental and physical development in children [8,9].
The population of the Vologda region is at risk of mercury accumulation in the body. First of all, this is due to the presence of natural and climatic conditions (high coefficient of lakes and swampy areas) for the formation of the most toxic and accessible to biota organomercury compounds [10]. In the reservoirs of the Vologda Region, high values of mercury content in the muscles of fish have repeatedly been recorded, exceeding the current Russian and world standards for the amount of the metal in fish [11]. The population consumes fish from local reservoirs, which leads to a natural accumulation of metal in the body.
It is obvious that the population, as a rule, has no idea about the amount of mercury entering the body with fish and fish products, so the assessment of mercury intake at the consumption of wild fish by the population of the Vologda region is relevant.
The aim of this work is to identify patterns of mercury bioaccumulation in fish in reservoirs of the Vologda region (North-West Russia) in order to assess the safe volumes of fish consumption for the local population.