Endocrine Disruption
Endocrine Disruption
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Complex Mixture of Contaminants Persists in Streams Miles from the Source
Natural processes in stream ecosystems such as dilution and microbial degradation are known to attenuate some contaminants to below levels that can cause harm to ecosystems. However, a team of U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists has shown that many chemicals discharged from municipal wastewater treatment facilities persist for miles downstream at levels known, or suspected, to cause adverse...
Hormones in Land-Applied Biosolids Could Affect Aquatic Organisms
Hormones from biosolids applied to fields may be present in rainfall runoff at concentrations that are high enough to impact the health of aquatic organisms if the runoff reaches streams, report scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and Colorado State University in Environmental Science and Technology . Artificial rainfall runoff from agricultural test plots where biosolids were...
New Knowledge on the Fate and Transport of Emerging Contaminants in Rivers
A detergent degradation product (4-nonylphenol) and a biogenic hormone (17β-estradiol) added to the Redwood River, Minnesota, were attenuated by biodegradation and other natural processes. These are the findings of a team of U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and University of Colorado scientists.
Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals in the Slick Scum that Covers Stones in Streams
The slick scum or biofilm that covers most rocks in streams can accumulate contaminants that disrupt reproductive and other endocrine systems in fish. This is the finding of a team of U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and University of Colorado Boulder scientists as described in a recent article in Environmental Science and Technology ( Writer and others, 2011 ). Biofilms are a mixture of algae...
Estrogenic Contaminants from Plants and Fungi Found in Iowa Streams
An international group of scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and Agroscope Reckenholz-Tänikon, Research Station ART (Switzerland) have documented the common occurrence of six phytoestrogens and two mycotoxins in streams across Iowa. Phytoestrogens (derived from plants) and mycotoxins (derived from fungi) are naturally occurring compounds. Scientists have known that phytoestrogens...
Manufacturing Facilities Release Pharmaceuticals to the Environment
In a 2004-2009 study, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists found that pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities can be a significant source of pharmaceuticals to the environment. Effluents from two wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) that receive discharge from pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities (PMFs) had 10 to 1000 times higher concentrations of pharmaceuticals than effluents from 24...