Concentration and distribution of Fe, Zn, Cu, Cd, Mn, Pb, Ni among subcellular fractions (cellular membrane structures and cytosol) and Zn, Cu, Cd among cytoplasmic proteins in the kidney and digestive gland of mussel Modiolus modiolus living along a polymetallic concentration gradient were studied. It was found in the kidney of M. modiolus from contaminated sites that the Fe percent increased in the "membrane" fraction, whereas Zn, Pb, Ni and Mn percent increased in the cytosol compared to the kidney of the control mussel. Note kidney cytosol of M. modiolus from clean and contaminated sites sequestered major parts of Cu and Cd. In the digestive gland of M. modiolus from contaminated sites Fe, Zn, Cd, Mn, Ni percent increased in the "membrane" fraction, whereas Cu, Pb percent increased in the cytosol compared to digestive gland of control mussel. Gel-filtration chromatography shows kidney of M. modiolus contains increased metallothionein-like protein levels irrespective of ambient dissolved metal concentrations. It was shown that the metal detoxification system in the kidney and digestive gland of M. modiolus was efficient under extremely high ambient metal levels. However, under complex environmental contamination in the kidney of M. modiolus, the metal detoxification capacity of metallothionein-like proteins was damaged.