Evaluation of heavy metal pollution in the Venetian lagoon by using Mytilus galloprovincialis as biological indicator.

This study reports the analysis of heavy metal (Cd, Co, Cu, Cr, Hg, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, Zn) and As accumulated in the mollusc Mytilus galloprovincialis collected in the Venetian lagoon between March and September 1988. This environmental biomonitoring project was carried out using natural population of the molluscs attached to the 'Briccole', which limit the navigation canals into the lagoon. These data were compared with those reported by other authors in analogous studies published about a decade ago. A small improvement on the heavy metal pollution of the Venetian lagoon can be deduced from this comparison, presumably depicting a positive signal of a new downward trend in metal concentrations. Continuous monitoring of the fragile lagoonal ecosystem must be an important commitment due to the economic and historical importance of the Venetian lagoon.