Contraceptive pill residues in sewage effluent are estrogenic to fish
Parkkonen, J.; Larsson, D.G.J.; Adolfsson-Eric, M.; Petterson, M.; Berg, A.H.; Olsson, P.-E.; Förlin, L. (2000). Contraceptive pill residues in sewage effluent are estrogenic to fish, in: Norberg, B. et al. (Ed.) Proceedings of the 6th International Symposium on the Reproductive Physiology of Fish, Bergen, Norway, July 4-9, 1999. pp. 362-364
In: Norberg, B. et al. (2000). Proceedings of the 6th International Symposium on the Reproductive Physiology of Fish, Bergen, Norway, July 4-9, 1999. International Symposium on the Reproductive Physiology of Fish, 6. Department of Fisheries and Marine Biology, University of Bergen: Bergen. ISBN 82-7461-048-2. 499 pp., meer
In: International Symposium on the Reproductive Physiology of Fish. Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales. , meer
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| Auteurs | | Top |
- Parkkonen, J.
- Larsson, D.G.J.
- Adolfsson-Eric, M.
- Petterson, M.
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- Berg, A.H.
- Olsson, P.-E.
- Förlin, L.
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| Abstract |
Recently we found estrogenic activity and identified estrogenic substances by GC/MS in the effluent water from a Swedish sewage treatment works (STW) receiving mainly domestic wastewater. Substances found include the synthetic estrogen used in contraceptives, 17 alpha -ethinylestradiol (EE sub(2)), the natural estrogens estrone and 17 beta -estradiol, and the weaker non-steroidal estrogens nonylphenol and bisphenol A. EE sub(2) exceed levels shown to be estrogenic to fish by 45-times. The estrogenicity of the effluent water was investigated by introducing juvenile rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) in cages downstream from the STW. All indicated estrogens bioconcentrated in the fish bile. The estrogen inducible protein, vitellogenin (Vtg), was determined by ELISA. Large amounts of Vtg were found in the plasma of caged fish two km downstream from the effluent outlet. We conclude that EE sub(2) is a major contributor to the estrogenic effect of the sewage effluent. We hypothesize that norethisterone (NE) and other contraceptives may be additional sources of EE sub(2) in sewage effluents. |
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