Arsenic speciation in whelks, Bucciunum undatum

The arsenic species present in the foot muscle of whelks, Buccinum undatum, collected from Newfoundland, Canada, were characterized by using high-performance liquid chromatography-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. All samples contain high amounts of arsenic, mostly over 100 mug g(-1) (as arsenic, dry weight basis), and one sample contained up to 1360 mug g(-1). These values are considerably higher than those reported in other gastropods. Speciation studies of representative samples revealed arsenobetaine as the major water-soluble arsenic compound, together with trace amounts of an arsenosugar. No inorganic arsenic species were detected in the sample extracts, indicating that consumption of the whelks poses little human risk. Copyright (C) 2002 John Wiley Sons, Ltd.