The Dunajec River is a right-bank tributary of the Vistula River. Main sources of pollution of the river include municipal and industrial sewage as well as domestic sewage discharged from the towns Zakopane, Nowy Targ, Nowy Sącz and Tarnów. The aim of this paper was to assess lead and chromium content in abiotic parts of the Dunajec’s ecosystem as well as to determine the bioaccumulation factor for this element in selected organs: muscles, liver, skin, and bones of the bleak fish (Alburnus alburnus L.). The samples of water and bottom sediments were collected twice from the Dunajec River, in July and October 2011, in 5 measuring points: Szczepanowice, Janowice, Wróblowice, Lusławice and Zakliczyn. At the same time, bleaks (29 pieces) caught by members of the Polish Angling Association (PZW — Polski Związek Wędkarski) in the studied section of the river in the second half of July were used in the research. The concentration of chromium in the solution was determined using atomic emission spectrometry with inductively coupled plasma in an apparatus Optima 7600 DV Perkin Elmer. Lead concentrations were determined on an atomic absorption spectrometer coupled with an electrothermal atomizer. The results indicate that the lead and chromium content in the water exceeded the values characteristic for unpolluted environments. The content of these elements in the sediment was lower than the geochemical background of the water sediments in Poland (10 mg Pb kg-1 and 5 mg Cr kg-1). The content of lead in different organs decreased in the following order: liver> skeleton> muscles> skin, while for the content of chromium the sequence was: liver> skeleton> skin> muscle. The values ​​of the bioaccumulation coefficient of lead in the individual organs of the bleak, as compared to the concentration of this element in the water, ranged from 7770 to 18909, and of chromium - from 1597 to 7895.  

23.3.2018