Occurrence and Effects of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals in the Environment

Abstract

This review focuses on environmental chemicals that mimic the activity of the endogenous estrogen, 17␤-estradiol ͑E2͒, and their effects on wildlife, because it is the most studied area of endocrine disruption. The potential human health impact of endocrine disruptors is beyond the scope of this paper and readers should refer to other publications as reported by Crisp et al. in 1998 and Safe in 1995. The concentrations of endocrine disrupting chemicals in effluents from sewage treatment plants ͑STPs͒ are summarized and compared. By utilizing in vitro and in vivo assays, environmental estrogens from STPs and other point source pollutants have been shown to induce reproductive abnormalities in fish and wildlife. Though treatment systems of sewage facilities can reduce the amounts of endocrine disrupting chemicals, the removal efficiency can still be improved to further reduce estrogenic effects upon aquatic organisms. Up to date, a lack of comprehensive research impedes the ability to correlate estrogenic chemicals to community-and ecosystem-level effects. Thus, total ecosystem evaluations such as species diversity and impact on keystone species and understudied nonpoint source pollution should be two primary focuses of future research.

Using calibration approaches to compensate for remaining matrix effects in quantitative liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization multistage mass spectrometric analysis of phytoestrogens in aqueous environmental samples

“…The occurrence and fate of estrogenic compounds in the environment has attracted much attention over the past few decades for their potential effects on wildlife and human beings 1–3. Many analytical methods for identification and quantitation of such compounds in environmental samples have been developed.…”

First observations of intersex development in paddlefish Polyodon spathula

“…All three headwater rivers have been listed as impaired by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency under the Clean Water Act section 303(d) due to a variety of causes, including pathogens, toxic compounds, pesticides, nutrients, metals (chromium, lead, thallium, zinc) and pH (EPA, 2019a). In several cases, paddlefish reproductive development has been shown to be susceptible to environmental factors such as water pollution or contamination with known endocrine disruptors, including dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) (Adolfi et al ., 2019; An and Hu, 2006; Gundersen et al ., 1998; Huang et al ., 2003). If contaminants are the cause of these intersex fish, it will be worthwhile to continue monitoring the harvest for the presence of other intersex fish and any increase in the frequency of occurrence.…”

Impact of operating conditions on the removal of endocrine disrupting chemicals by membrane photocatalytic reactor

“…[2,3] Advanced oxidation processes (AOPs), such as ultraviolet (UV)/H 2 O 2 or UV/O 3 , are currently used in some large municipal recycling operations around the world to remove NOM from surface water prior to chlorination. [4] These AOPs have been also effective in the removal of some pharmaceuticals and EDCs.…”