Palytoxin (PLTX)는 자연계 해양생물독소 중 가장 강력 한 독소로, 전 세계적으로 관리되지 않는 해양생물독소이 다. PLTX는 Oetreopsis, Palythoa, Trichodesmium sp. 등에 서 발견된다. 이러한 해양생물독소가 식용 해산물에서 발 견될 경우, 공중보건에 심각한 위험을 초래할 수 있다. 기 후변화로 인한 Ostreopsis sp.의 서식지 확장은 국내 수산 식품의 PLTX 오염에 대한 우려를 불러일으킬 수 있다. 따 라서, 본 연구에서는 국내에 유통되는 국내산 패류에서 PLTX의 오염도 수준을 분석하였다. 그 결과, 실제 시료에 서는 PLTX의 유의미한 농도가 검출되지 않았다. 이러한 결과는 국내에서 생산되는 패류는 PLTX에 오염되지 않았 음을 기기분석법으로 확인하였으며, 이는 패류 섭취에 대 한 안전성을 제공한다.

Severe damages will result in human society, when several different critical natural phenomena coincide. One example relates to the resting cysts of Alexandrium species (dinoflagellates that cause paralytic shellfish poisoning), which are preserved in surface sediments throughout Osaka Bay, Japan. These cysts have been found to accumulate particularly densely in shallow areas in the inner parts of Osaka Bay, where a tsunami caused by an earthquake could occur any time. Damage by a tsunami could cause a change of the coastal ecosystems at Osaka Bay including the resuspension of surface sediments containing resting Alexandrium tamarense cysts and the subsequent redistribution of the cysts in newly deposited sediment. Under certain environmental conditions, these cysts could germinate and form dense blooms, leading to paralytic shellfish poisoning. Such a scenario could also affect other coastal areas, including the southern coast of the Korean Peninsula.

This study were conducted to estimate the values of the heavy metal in the fresh water fish and shellfish collected from fish market. The levels of the heavy metal were determined in a total of 319 samples of 11 species of the fresh water fish and 14 species of the shellfish by mercury analyzer and atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The results of this study were summerized as follows; The average contents of the heavy metal in the fresh water fish were Pb 0.075, Hg 0.053, Cd 0.002, Cr 0.135, Fe 8.695, Mn 1.078, Zn 9.491, Cu 0.548 mg/ kg. The average contents of the heavy metal in the shellfish were Pb 0.059, Hg 0.007, Cd 0.146, Cr 0.147, Fe 40.808, Mn 7.738, Zn 13.943, Cu 2.731 mg/kg. Being compared the average contents of the heavy metal of the fresh water fish with those of shellfish, the average contents of Cd, Fe, Mn, Cu in the shellfish were significantly higher than in the fresh water fish(P$lt;0.001). Depending on the sampling areas, the average contents of the heavy metal were different by districts. The contents of the heavy metal were changed with the seasons(P$lt;0.05).