As can be seen in Table 2, lead content spanned a narrow range
(fish: ND–1.18 lg g1
; cephalopod molluscs: ND–0.17 lg g1
;
crustaceans: ND–0.03 lg g1
) and was always low, except for albacore
(1.18 lg g1
). What here revealed agrees perfectly with data
in literature, which report a decreased in lead level in the marine
environment (Nicolas et al., 1994; Tian and Ruiz-Pino, 1995). The
regulation to limit leaded gasoline consumption applied in many
European countries since the 1970s, can be responsible of the decline
of its levels in the environment. Serial measurements of lead
concentration between 1983 and 1992 illustrate, in fact, that the
application of such a regulation in Europe has noticeably influenced
residue levels in the Mediterranean Sea (Ni