Exposure to environmental contaminants

Hg in seafood Acute health effects (Minimata) Chronic health effects (seafood (NY

state)) Endocrine disruptors

Effects on humans Effects on other animals

Long Island Sound data

HEAVY METAL POLLUTION IN WATER:

PB, AS, HG, CD, OTHERS

‘Mad as a Hatter’

Did you know that the Mad Hatter from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is modeled after an occupational disease of the 18th and 19th centuries? In that era, hat makers were heavily exposed to mercury used in the preparation of felt. Consequently, many suffered brain damage and became psychotic, or “mad” (Katy, 1979).

Reference: Dennis Coon & John O. Mitterer (2007), Introduction to Psychology, 11th Edition, Wadsworth Cengage Learning

• Human exposure through fish consumption

• Neurotoxic; Neurodevelopmental effects

• Crosses blood-brain, placental barriers

• Bioaccumulation & biomagnification

Mercury Hg

MeHg Biomagnification

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700

Water

Phytoplankton

Zooplankton

Planktivorous Fish

Piscivorous Fish

Total Hg (ppb)

MeHg

Inorganic Hg

Top predators and older, slow growing fish have high MeHg concentrations.

Exposure route: sediments to fish to consumers

Minimata Disease, 1956

Over 2,000 victims

Source: acetaldehyde factory

~25-30 tons released

USGS

Exact mechanism of action not really known

% Rivers and Lakes Under Advisory

1993-2004

Fish Consumption Advisories for Mercury (2004)

Mercury Exposure in New Yorkers

NYC HANES (Health and Nutrition Examination Survey) 1/4 NYC adults have elevated blood Hg levels

20-49 y old women, average blood mercury level 2.64 µg/L (3x the national average (0.83 µg/L)

WHY??•New Yorkers eat more fish

•Fish consumed by New Yorkers is more contaminated with mercury

1/4 NYC adults have elevated blood Hg levels

20-49 y old women, 2.64 µg/L (3x national average) ¼ of these ≥ 5 µg/L

<5 µg/L for those who eat fish ≤3 times/week >5 µg/L for those who eat fish ≥ 4 times/week Higher-income adults have higher mercury levels;

highest income bracket 3.6 µg/L, 2.4 µg/L for lowest income group

blood mercury higher among NYC Asian women (4.1 µg/L); 45% have blood mercury levels ≥ 5 µg/L Esp. foreign-born Chinese women; eat ~ 3 fish

meals / week, compared to ~1 among average New Yorker

1/4 Chinese New Yorkers eat fish 5+ times/week

(McKelvey et al. 2007)

Significance of NYC HANES study

Important source of information about the health of a community

Information about local environment Highlights need for improved education

FDA Seafood consumption guidelines

“Women who might become pregnant, women who are pregnant, nursing mothers, and young children”.

1. “should include fish and shellfish in their diets. But . . . ”

2. “all fish and shellfish contain . . . mercury . . . those that contain higher levels . . . may harm an unborn baby or young child's developing nervous system”

Consumption guidelines 21. Do not eat Shark, Swordfish, King Mackerel, or

Tilefish 2. Eat up to 12 ounces (2 meals) a week of fish

and shellfish that are lower in mercury (shrimp, canned light tuna, salmon, pollock, and catfish).

3. You may eat up to 6 ounces (one average meal) of albacore tuna per week.

4. Eat up to 6 ounces (1 meal) per week of fish you catch from local waters, but don't consume any other fish during that week.

Problem: Current recommendations based on fish Hg data from ~1991-2004.

Risks/Benefits of Fish consumption

Estimated EPA/DHA and MeHg intake from one and two 3-ounce servings of seafood.

Other water pollutants

Nutrients (eutrophication) POPs (persistent organic pollutants)

PCDDs, mirex, DDT Pharmaceuticals Endocrine disruptors

Silent Spring

Rachel Carson, 1962 Drew national attention to eggshell thinning

caused by DDT Our Stolen Future, Theo Colborn, 1997

Endocrine Disrupting Compounds (EDCs)

Chemicals routinely used in industrial processes, agriculture and the production of a variety of domestic products which are able to bind to, and either activate or block endogenous steroid receptors

Widely distributed, environmentally stable and lipophilic

One of six high priority research issues, EPA 1996

Endocrine Disrupting Compounds (EDCs)

PCBs PAHs Surfactants Plasticizers Steroid hormones Phytoestrogens

EDCs in the home

Phthalates Food storage containers Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) tubing/products (such

as water pipes) Flexible plastics, plastic bottles

Bisphenol A (BPA) Metal cans of food and infant formula Hard-plastic baby bottles Sippy cups Plastic bottles

Avoid exposure

How to Avoid Phthalates and BPA: Do not microwave food/beverages in plastic Do not microwave or heat plastic cling wraps Do not place plastics in the dishwasher If using hard polycarbonate plastics (water bottles/baby

bottles/sippy cups), do not use for warm/hot liquids Use safe alternatives such as glass or polyethylene

plastic (symbol #1) Avoid canned foods when possible (BPA may be used in

can linings) Look for labels on products that say “phthalate-free” or

“BPA-free”

Environmental Relevance

Human Seveso Women’s Health Study (SWHS)

Exposure to relatively pure TCDD (1976) Significant, dose-response increased risk of breast

cancer In males:

Cryptorchidism, hypospadias & decreased sperm counts

Environmental relevance

Reptile Dicofol (DDT analog) spill by Tower Chemical

Co. in Lake Apopka, Florida, 1980 Compared to reference lakes, juvenile male

alligators exhibited significantly: Smaller penis size (24% average decrease) Lower plasma testosterone levels (70% lower)

Baltic seal body burdens Snails & TBT exposure

Environmental Relevance--Amphibian

Hayes et al., 2002

Ovotestis

Schmitt et al., 2005

Largemouth bass testes from Rio Grande

Arukwe and Goksoyr, 2003

Long Island Sound

Watershed: 9 million inhabitants; 44 sewage treatment plants (STPs) (1 billion gallons day-1)

Historically used for shipping, fishing and waste disposal

Fluvial input: Connecticut, Housatonic, Quinnipiac, Thames

Water Quality Indexdissolved inorganic nitrogen, dissolved inorganic phosphorus, chlorophyll a, water clarity, and dissolvedoxygen

LI Sound

LI Sound

LI Sound

PCB concentrations in striped bass from the Sound declined from about 2.5 ppm to less than 0.5 ppm

Pathogens in LI Sound

Pathogens –disease causing bacteria and viruses

Primarily from stormwater runoff animal waste, human waste

from improperly maintained septic systems

illegal connections to ‘storm sewers’

Older systems combine wastewater and storm water; wastewater transport to STP can overflow during high rainfall events