Use of mussels as a bioindicator of heavy metal pollution along the belgian coast

peer reviewedFrom 1991 till 1993, a study of the Belgian coast pollution by heavy metals using Mytilus edulis as a bioindicator was performed. The Pb, Cr, Cu and Ti concentrations decreased from 1987 till 1991 but then remained unchanged till 1993. Cd contamination is increasing from 1987. Hg, whose concentration had been shown to decrease from 1975 to 1991, now reaches the same values as in 1986. The O/N measurements performed on the mussels suggest an increase of the general pollution level of the Belgian coast. However, feeding, spawning and detoxification processes are also able to influence the O/N ratio and should be taken into account in the framework of a global assessment of the pollution level of the Belgian coas