Technogenic contamination of livestock- and fish-derived food products with heavy metals and radionuclides in industrial and post-nuclear regions of Kazakhstan

Vet World Vol.19 March-2026 Article - 12

Research Article

Veterinary World, 19(3): 1052-1068

https://doi.org/10.14202/vetworld.2026.1052-1068

Zhanat Adilbekov¹, Raikhan Mustafina¹, Shyngys Suleimenov², Ainur Serikova², Zhuzzassarova Gulnur¹, Zhanbolat Suranshiyev¹, and Aslan Bainiyazov¹

1. Group of Educational Programs "Veterinary", Institute of Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine, NJSC "S. Seifullin Kazakh Agro Technical Research University", Astana, Kazakhstan.

2. Department of Veterinary, Research School of Veterinary Medicine and Agriculture, NJSC “Shakarim University”, Semey, Kazakhstan.

Background and Aim: Technogenic pollution from industrial activities and legacy nuclear testing remains a major environmental concern in several regions of Kazakhstan. Contaminants such as heavy metals and radionuclides can migrate through environmental matrixes into the food chain, potentially compromising the safety of livestock- and fish-derived food products. This study aimed to assess contamination levels of toxic elements and radionuclides in meat, poultry, milk, dairy products, and freshwater fish from technogenically hazardous regions of Eastern, Northern, and Central Kazakhstan and to evaluate their compliance with established safety standards.

Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional monitoring study was conducted from August 2024 to September 2025 in the Abai, Akmola, and Karaganda regions. A total of 383 samples of meat, milk, and dairy products and 143 freshwater fish samples were collected from farms, retail markets, and local water bodies. Concentrations of lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), and zinc (Zn) were determined using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry. Radionuclides cesium-137 and strontium-90 were analyzed using a multichannel gamma spectrometer with radiochemical methods where applicable. Descriptive statistics and analysis of variance were performed using IBM SPSS Statistics version 25, with p < 0.05 considered statistically significant.

Results: Elevated concentrations of toxic elements were detected in several livestock products. The Karaganda region showed the highest contamination, including exceedances of Pb, Cd, Cu, and Zn in horse meat and elevated Cu in beef. In the Akmola region, exceedances were mainly observed for Cu and occasionally Cd, whereas in the Abai region Cd exceedances predominated. Poultry meat generally met safety standards, except for Cd exceedance in chicken from the Akmola region. In dairy products, Cd and Cu exceeded permissible levels in cottage cheese and milk in selected districts, while Pb exceeded limits in whole milk samples from the Abai region. Freshwater fish contained detectable heavy metals, but concentrations remained below maximum permissible limits. Radionuclide levels in all tested products were substantially below regulatory thresholds, and no statistically significant regional differences were observed.

Conclusion: The findings demonstrate localized accumulation of toxic elements in livestock-derived foods in industrially impacted regions of Kazakhstan, while radionuclide contamination remains within safe limits. Continuous environmental monitoring and strengthened food safety surveillance are required to minimize health risks and ensure the safety of animal-derived food products in technogenically affected areas.

Keywords: animal-derived foods, food safety, heavy metals, Kazakhstan, livestock products, radionuclides, technogenic contamination, toxic elements.

How to cite this article: Bainiyazov A., Adilbekov Z., Mustafina R., Gulnur Z., Suranshiyev Z., Suleimenov S., Serikova A. Technogenic contamination of livestock- and fish-derived food products with heavy metals and radionuclides in industrial and post-nuclear regions of Kazakhstan. Vet. World, 2026, 19(3):1052–1068.

Received: 10-12-2025 Accepted: 11-02-2026 Published online: 15-03-2026

Corresponding author: Aslan Bainiyazov E-mail: a.bainiyazov@kazatu.edu.kz

DOI: 10.14202/vetworld.2026.1052-1068

Copyright: Bainiyazov, et al. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http:// creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.