Abstract

The Black Sea is seriously affected by a large range of pollutants, despite severe laws regarding the protection of sea ecosystems.

Heavy metals are among the most important xenobiotics from the environment, presenting also toxicity for humans.

The studies upon heavy metals have proven that the sediments have the highest concentrations and they can release metals back

to water and this fact represents a risk for the humans and aquatic ecosystem life.

The use of aquatic organisms like bioindicators for heavy metal pollution is common in actual studies, the algae and molluscs

being the most used indicators. These are biofilter organisms that retain small particles from the water, so that the presence of

pollutants in mussels’ tissues indicates a contamination of the marine environment. This study provides information upon heavy

metals pollution and their bioaccumulation mechanisms in the aquatic organisms living in the Black Sea.

Determination of heavy metals from the tissues of mussels from the Black Sea is very important because in the seawater are

discharged the effluents with various concentrations of pollutants. Determination of heavy metals concentrations (Cd2+, Fe2+/

Fe3+, Cr3+/ Cr6+, Cu2+, Ni2+, Pb2+, Zn2+) realised in 2010 showed that the maximum limits were exceeded in water and sediments

for Cadmium, in water for Iron, Zinc, and in fish for Cadmium and Lead. Other results of the researches showed that the Black

Sea was loaded with Cd2+, Co2+, Cu2+ and Ni2+, as compared to other regional seas.