Increase of Plasma Vitellogenin Concentration in Rainbow Trout ( Oncorhynchus mykiss ) Exposed to Effluents from Oil Refinery Treatment Works and Municipal Sewage

Abstract

The aim of the present study was to examine whether effluents from an oil refinery with new "best available technology" for the effluent treatment may contain estrogenic substances. Standard municipal sewage has been shown to contain such compounds (Purdom et al. 1994), but few, if any studies have been carried out on highly purified refinery effluent. For comparison, and as a positive control, studies of municipal sewage were also done. Vitellogenin is produced in the liver of female fish and is the precursor of egg proteins. Its production is induced by estrogens (Tata and Smith 1979) and is normally not synthesised by immature fish or males. As an indicator of estrogenic compounds in these effluents, we used the increase in plasma vitellogenin concentrations in male rainbow trout (O n c o r h y n c u s m y k i s s) after and during exposure (Sumpter and Jobling 1995, Purdom et al. 1994) MATERIALS AND METHODSThe effluent from the ESSO -Slagentangen Oil Refinery was chosen because the toxicity of process chemicals and effluents from this refinery has been studied (Riisberg et al 1996;Roseth et al 1996). This refinery is located at the outlet of the Oslofjord where the hydrodynamic conditions seem to be satisfactory, and no serious impact on water quality has been recorded (Jensen et al. 1992). T h e treatment works receive waste water from the oil refining process, drainage and ballast water. The three streams are mixed and stored in a large tank in order to smooth out variation in salinity. Thereafter the effluent is purified by skimming and sedimentation before being fed into the biological treatment system. This last section is a BIOX™ plant and has an aerobic and an anaerobic compartment. It was introduced in 1993 in order to meet the legal specifications for phenolics and "oil in water". According to typical routine analysis carried out at the refinery, 105 m 3 /hour-of effluent are produced, containing < 1 mg/L dissolved oil, and ca. 0.2 mg/L phenolics. The total organic carbon (TOC) is 16 mg/L, whereas NH 3 plus N H 4 ' is < 0.1 mg/L. The municipal sewage plant receives domestic waste water from Oslo. It is located at Bekkelaget at the inner part of the Oslofjord. TOC was 23.2 mg/L and NH 3 plus NH 4 ' , 24.9 mg/L. Rainbow trout (mean weight 350 g) of both sexes purchased from a commercial fish farm were used in the experiments. Both immature and mature fish were employed. The fish were anaesthetized with Correspondence to: J. Stenersen

Induction of Plasma Vitellogenin Synthesis by the Commercial Fish Diets in Male Goldfish(Carassius auratus) and Dietary Phytoestrogens.

“…3,4) However, the cause of these effects has yet to be fully elucidated, and the extent of their effects is largely unknown at present. Over the 70 chemicals have been considered as potential EDCs, including natural estrogens, synthetic estrogens, organochlorine pesticides, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and other persistent contaminants.…”

The in vivo effect of combinations of octylphenol, butylbenzylphthalate and estradiol on liver estradiol receptor modulation and induction of zona radiata proteins in rainbow trout: no evidence of synergy

“…Both alkylphenols and phthalates have been suggested as potential causes of the estrogenic effects of treated sewage effluent on fish in the UK (Sumpter, 1995) and could also be responsible for the estrogenic effect of treated sewage and effluents from oil-industry in Norway (Arukwe et al, 1997;Knudsen et al, 1997). Given the low estrogenicity of alkylphenols and phthalates and the evident lack of synergy between them, it is reasonable to question the role of these chemicals as the main cause of the estrogenic effect of such effluents.…”

“…Alkylphenols and phthalates are xenobiotics which are abundantly distributed in the environment and are probably among the assemblage of chemicals responsible for the estrogenic effect of treated sewage effluent (Purdom et al, 1994;Sumpter, 1995) and certain industrial discharges (Arukwe et al, 1997;Knudsen et al, 1997). Effluents from both sources are estrogenic to fish, eliciting production of the yolk protein precursor vitellogenin (Purdom et al, 1994;Harries et al, 1997;Knudsen et al, 1997) and the eggshell (zona radiata) protein (Arukwe et al, 1997) in exposed fish.…”

“…Effluents from both sources are estrogenic to fish, eliciting production of the yolk protein precursor vitellogenin (Purdom et al, 1994;Harries et al, 1997;Knudsen et al, 1997) and the eggshell (zona radiata) protein (Arukwe et al, 1997) in exposed fish. These proteins are induced by both estradiol, the endogenous piscine estrogen, and estrogenic chemicals, with the induction of zona radiata proteins occurring at lower concentrations of estrogen than are necessary to induce vitellogenin (Arukwe et al, 1997).…”

Development of Plasma Vitellogenin Assay for Estrogenic Effects of Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals Using Ovariectomized Goldfish (Carassius auratus)

“…Many EDCs may also cause adverse effects in freshwater and marine water fish populations. 3,4) Soybeans contain estrogenic isoflavones and derivatives such as coumestrol, formononetin, daidzein, biochanin A, genistein and equol, which can also disturb reproductive function in mammals. 5,6) These isoflavonic compounds may act as estrogen agonists by binding to estrogen receptors on target tissues and enhancing RNA synthesis 7,8) or acting antagonistically to block any RNA replication when bound to estrogen receptors thereby producing an antiestrogen physiological effect.…”