Abstract
Most of the fresh water fish consumed in Nigeria comes from the Southern part of the country. The
major aim of this study was to evaluate the heavy metal concentrations of Tilapia fish (Tilapia
orechromis) of Makoko and Carter Bridge Rivers, thereby conducting a health risk assessment of these
fishes. Heavy metal analyses were carried out by atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS). Lead
concentrations of tilapia fish from Carter Bridge and Makoko rivers were found to be 0.65 and 0.31
mg/g, respectively. Cadmium concentrations of the fish were found as 0.90 and 0.23 mg/g, respectively.
Chromium was detected in all sample groups. Its concentrations were found to be 0.008 and 0.22 mg/g,
respectively. The concentrations of all the sample groups were above the maximum permissible limits
of the USEPA. The coastal Nigeria population, which consumes larger quantities of fish may be at risk.
Key words: Heavy metals, Tilapia orechromis, lead, cadmium, chromium.
