Homework - Down the Drain
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Last updated 11 months ago
11 questions
Note from the author:
Background information
Endocrine Disruption is Inherently Toxic
International Endocrine Society: • A hormone disruptive substance is an exogenous chemical, or mixture of chemicals, that interferes with any aspect of hormone action.
“Environmental chemicals that interfere with any aspect of hormone action should be presumed to produce adverse effects.”
The Great Lakes have faced various threats for years, from industrial pollution to invasive species, but another challenge worries many researchers these days — the emerging chemical threat.
It’s not just pesticides, as scientists are finding worrying levels of pharmaceutically active compounds such as anti-inflammatories, antibiotics, anti-epileptics, and beta blockers in lake water. As well, hormones, pesticides and alkylphenols have been identified as threats.
These products and medicines flushed down toilets and dumped into sinks are not stopped at water treatment plants, which are not geared to deal with them
A new report prepared for the International Joint Commission by two Windsor, Ont., researchers has outlined the threats the chemicals pose. The International Joint Commission was formed by the U.S. and Canadian governments to find solutions to problems in the Great Lakes Basin.
The compounds "are receiving attention due to their potential adverse effects on animals and humans at low levels of exposure," said the report, co-authored by Merih Otker Uslu and Nihar Biswas of the University of Windsor. They sound a warning later in the report, which is a review of data collected from 2007-11. "The toxic effects on aquatic organisms, alterations on the reproductive system of aquatic organisms and the promotion of the development of resistant bacterial strains representing a health risk to humans, are among the adverse effects of these compounds.
Background information
Endocrine Disruption is Inherently Toxic
International Endocrine Society: • A hormone disruptive substance is an exogenous chemical, or mixture of chemicals, that interferes with any aspect of hormone action.
“Environmental chemicals that interfere with any aspect of hormone action should be presumed to produce adverse effects.”
The Great Lakes have faced various threats for years, from industrial pollution to invasive species, but another challenge worries many researchers these days — the emerging chemical threat.
It’s not just pesticides, as scientists are finding worrying levels of pharmaceutically active compounds such as anti-inflammatories, antibiotics, anti-epileptics, and beta blockers in lake water. As well, hormones, pesticides and alkylphenols have been identified as threats.
These products and medicines flushed down toilets and dumped into sinks are not stopped at water treatment plants, which are not geared to deal with them
A new report prepared for the International Joint Commission by two Windsor, Ont., researchers has outlined the threats the chemicals pose. The International Joint Commission was formed by the U.S. and Canadian governments to find solutions to problems in the Great Lakes Basin.
The compounds "are receiving attention due to their potential adverse effects on animals and humans at low levels of exposure," said the report, co-authored by Merih Otker Uslu and Nihar Biswas of the University of Windsor. They sound a warning later in the report, which is a review of data collected from 2007-11. "The toxic effects on aquatic organisms, alterations on the reproductive system of aquatic organisms and the promotion of the development of resistant bacterial strains representing a health risk to humans, are among the adverse effects of these compounds.
9
The glands of the endocrine system __________. They regulate all of the processes of the body and make sure they get to where they need to be on time.
Each hormone has __________. Glands are spread throughout the body. A lot of them are controlled by a gland in the brain called the __________. A pituitary gland also produces __________, which is what makes us grow big and tall. Teh pancreas makes insulin and the nervous system handles adrenaline.
Thyroid hormones regulate how __________ from the food we eat. That is called metabolism. Adrenal glands control the release of adrenaline, which is some powerful stuff used in __________.
The __________is the biggest gland of the endocrine system. It produces insulin, a chemical that's help the body process energy from the food we eat.
The reproductive glands make sure that the body goes through the changes of puberty so that you can grow from a child to an adult. The ovaries oversee puberty in girls by secreting a hormone called __________. The testes secrete __________ for development in boys. The are like sports team coaches.
Any time you flush a toilet or run a faucet, you produce wastewater. When chemicals are added to wastewater, they sometimes can end up in lakes and rivers, threatening wildlife. In recent years, scientists have discovered that when the chemical estrogen is in wastewater, it harms wild fish populations.
Estrogen is chemical responsible for sexual development and reproduction in female vertebrates. It is produced naturally in the body, but it also is in medications that many women take. Like other chemicals in drugs, estrogen is released in urine and ends up in wastewater.
1
5
When do you produce wastewater? __________
When chemicals are added to wastewater, they sometimes can end up in __________, threatening wildlife.
What chemical harms wild fish populations__________
Estrogen is chemical responsible for __________.
How do chemicals from prescription medication get into wastewater? __________
1
If even a small amount of estrogen gets into waterways, it can have a huge impact on local fishes. The chemical disrupts the organs that enable them to reproduce. Most fishes are not born male or female. Instead, environmental factors, such as temperature, food availability, and social interactions, determine which sex organs they develop. In a healthy habitat, some fishes produce eggs and others produce the sperm to fertilize eggs. However, increased levels of estrogen in the water can affect the the expression of traits in fish.
Data collected in the field and in the laboratory show that estrogen affects how fish develop. When exposed to estrogen, males produce fewer or no sperm and some even produce eggs. Many female stop producing eggs. Without healthy males and females, these fish populations drop.
Lake Experiment
To understand estrogen's effects on wild fish, scientists released small amounts of the chemical into a lake in Ontario, Canada. They observed drastic changes in the fathead minnows that had been living thriving in the lake. The females produced fewer eggs. The males produced fewer sperm or began to develop eggs. After 3 years, the minnow population had nearly disappeared. Once scientists stopped adding estrogen, the fish population began to recover.
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5
__________ fishes are not born male or female. Instead, environmental factors, such as __________, food availability, and social interactions, determine which sex organs they __________.
Estrogen in wastewater __________
Once scientists stopped adding estrogen, did the fish recover? __________
1
To understand estrogen's effects on wild fish, scientists released small amounts of the chemical into a lake in Ontario, Canada. What drastic changes did they find?
To understand estrogen's effects on wild fish, scientists released small amounts of the chemical into a lake in Ontario, Canada. What drastic changes did they find?
5
The hormones and the Pharmaceuticals that we've been told to _______ down our toilets are now appearing in the river and seeming to have _______ on the fish. The fish are changing, their sexual hormones that are changing the fish's sexes.
In fishes sex is usually not determined genetically but it's determined based on hormone _______ in the bloodstream.
When these fish are exposed through the water in which they swimming to extra hormones they cannot _______ between those hormones and those inside their body. Since most of these hormones (these endocrine disruptors) are estrogenic, they act like female estrogens. Male fish will become feminized they will lose some of the _______ related characters and become more like female fishes.
4
These compounds are biologically active at extremely low concentrations. Where even if there are very low levels of hormones in the wastewater that get into the surface water, we start to see some rather _______ effects. One of which is rather extreme feminization of the fish that are living in in in the waters.
These effects can be as little as just fish losing their _______ that is usually stronger in male fish but it can be as extreme as actually growing ovarian tissues ovaries in the male reproductive organs. That entire range of effects has been documented in different streams and rivers and lakes in the United States. If all of the fish in the Mississippi River became female obviously then you have no _______. The Department of Natural Resources perhaps would try to compensate by stocking the Mississippi River with fish so that it could remain a productive fishery. This would be very _______ . If you take out a few key populations and we don't really know which ones are key you could have a catastrophic effect to your community.
3
Specifically one of the tests we do is we look for a protein that shows up in male fish that have been exposed to to a suspected compound (which _______ the effects of estrogen).
If the male fish makes that protein which they normally shouldn't, it's a sign that the the suspected compound is estrogenic or it's having effects that mimic _______. So that should have wide ranging effects on on humans as well especially if the fish is _______ .
It's your turn
Research how pesticides or other chemicals are affecting a particular animal species. include the name of the chemical, how it is used, and how it affects the animal. Create a warning label for the product to warn consumers of the effects.
4
Research how pesticides or other chemicals are affecting a particular animal species. include the name of the chemical, how it is used, and how it affects the animal.
Create a warning label for the product to warn consumers of the effects.
Research how pesticides or other chemicals are affecting a particular animal species. include the name of the chemical, how it is used, and how it affects the animal.
Create a warning label for the product to warn consumers of the effects.
