MISSISSIPPI: Mississippi River-caught fish contain toxic metals of human health concern, MS-INBRE research reveals

Drs. Scoty Hearst and Trent Selby, professors in the Chemistry and Biochemistry Department at Mississippi College in Clinton, Mississippi, are analyzing fish caught out of the Lower Mississippi River Basin to determine the level of toxic metals that accumulate in their flesh as part of a study funded by the Mississippi IDeA Network of Biomedical Research Excellence (Mississippi INBRE). Their results, published in a recent issue of Elsevier, indicated that some fish species, such as gar, contained levels of toxic metals exceeding safe consumption limits outlined by the World Health Organization, including lead and mercury.