[Pharmwaste] Teens examine effect of estrogen in water

[Tenace, Laurie]

http://www.billingsgazette.net/articles/2007/04/06/news/local/20-estrogen.txt


Teens examine effect of estrogen in water
By LAURA TODE 
Of The Gazette Staff

O.J. Simpson was the most aggressive of the bunch - until estrogen was added
to his water.

Then, his lunging at his image in the mirror all but stopped and he no longer
flared his gills at other fish. For a betta tropical fish, known for fighting
other male bettas to the death, it was a radical change.

Mykal Eden and Joanita Mathews, both 17, couldn't help but feel sorry for
him, but his change in behavior was what they were hoping for. As a science
experiment, the two West High juniors introduced estrogen sulfate, and
Bisphenol-A, an estrogen mimicker, to betta fish tanks to see if the
chemicals would cause a change in behavior.

Their laid-back fish and all the work the girls did to get them that way
earned first place at the recent Billings Clinic Science Expo regional
science fair and an all-expenses-paid trip to the international science fair
in Albuquerque. Fifteen fish were used in the experiment. Five were exposed
to estrogen sulfate, five were exposed to Bisphenol-A and five were used as a
control group. All the tanks were labeled with an official number, but the
girls ended up giving the fish names as they got to know them better and
found that each had its own personality.

"We can remember their other names, but we gave them each pet names because
it's really easier that way," Eden said.

Both estrogen sulfate and Bisphenol-A are found in some streams and
groundwater, and have been shown to cause changes in fish reproductive
systems, but no experiments have been done to see if the chemicals cause
behavior changes.

Estrogen sulfate gets into groundwater primarily through human waste,
specifically by women on birth control. Bisphenol-A is a plastic
manufacturing byproduct that is released into waterways.

Some white perch in the Great Lakes region have become asexual after exposure
to Bisphenol-A in the streams there, and in Montana, estrogen sulfate has
been linked to reproductive system mutations in fathead minnows.
Estrogen-contaminated water may even cause young girls to go into puberty at
an early age.

Eden and Mathews didn't want to hurt the fish and wanted to simulate natural
exposure to the chemicals, so they dissolved less than a tenth of a milligram
of the chemicals in a liter of distilled water and added only a few drops of
the solution to the 5-gallon jugs of clean water they used to fill the fish
tanks.

"The tiny amount blew me away," Eden said. "Our biggest concern was that the
small amount wouldn't have an effect."

To test aggression, they held mirrors in the water and counted the number of
times the fish flared their gills.

"As long as the chemical is in their water system, their aggression goes
down," Mathews said.

The fish exposed to Bisphenol-A mellowed the most.

O.J. Simpson and all the other fish used for the experiment are on the
rebound now. Eden and Mathews stopped the estrogen drops and the fish are
getting their fight back.

Eden and Mathews said the experiment has made them realize how fragile the
environment is and how critical clean water is.

"It's the things you can't see that are having a big affect," Eden said.

"I think that if something isn't done about this, it's going to only get
worse," Mathews said.

Though no positive link between Bisphenol-A contamination and the everyday
use of plastics for eating and drinking has been made, it is a growing
concern.

"It's something that's so overlooked," Mathews said.
 

Laurie J. Tenace
Environmental Specialist
Florida Department of Environmental Protection
2600 Blair Stone Road, MS 4555
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-2400
PH: (850) 245-8759
FAX: (850) 245-8811
Laurie.Tenace at dep.state.fl.us 

Mercury web pages:
http://www.dep.state.fl.us/waste/categories/mercury/default.htm

Unwanted Medications web pages:
http://www.dep.state.fl.us/waste/categories/medications/default.htm




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