Measuring endocrine disruptors in wastewater

Date:
April 12, 2022
Source:
Institut national de la recherche scientifique - INRS
Summary:
Treating pollutants, such as endocrine disruptors, is an effective
way to protect the environment. Endocrine disruptors are chemicals
that alter the hormonal systems and the development of organisms
that are exposed to them, even in small quantities. Scientists
are working on an effluent analysis tool to predict their harmful
effects.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Treating pollutants, such as endocrine disruptors, is an effective way to protect the environment. Endocrine disruptors are chemicals that alter
the hormonal systems and the development of organisms that are exposed
to them, even in small quantities. Doctoral student Julie Robitaille
and Professor Vale'rie Langlois of the Institut national de la recherche scientifique (INRS) are working on an effluent analysis tool to predict
their harmful effects.


========================================================================== "There is interest in Quebec and around the world in finding ways to
track endocrine disruptors. These methods could even identify where
the contamination is coming from in a given area -- whether it's from agricultural, hospital, municipal, or industrial environments," says
Professor Vale'rie Langlois.

The pair of researchers is also working with municipal and industrial
partners to monitor drinking water and wastewater to plan for potential infrastructure changes. Unlike many current techniques that test on fish,
their method does not involve animal testing. Instead, their approach
uses human cell lines, genetically modified in the laboratory to be
sensitive to certain hormones.

"When an endocrine disruptor activates the receptors on these cells, they
emit a small light. That's how we determine whether the wastewater could
be posing a risk to the hormonal system," explains Julie Robitaille,
a doctoral student in water sciences. However, she says that further
research is needed to reveal how their cellular findings translate to
aquatic species.

The contaminant cocktail The challenge in monitoring wastewater comes from
the "cocktail" of endocrine disruptors it contains. "You can't just look
at whether each individual substance is present. You need to analyze
whether the entire mixture has any effect, since these contaminants
can have different consequences when combined with other chemicals,"
says the PhD student.

To test the effects of the pollutant mix, the researchers turned to
bioassays, using the biological analyses to measure the reactions of
their cell lines when exposed to wastewater samples, without knowing
exactly which contaminants they contained.

Robitaille used several techniques to demonstrate the effectiveness
of this type of approach, one of which involved making an inventory of
all the tools available to regulatory authorities. She conducted this literature review in collaboration with scientists who are members of
the Intersectoral Centre for Endocrine Disruptor Analysis (ICEDA). The publication appeared in the Environmental Research journal's 2022 Special
Issue on Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals.


========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Institut_national_de_la_recherche_scientifique_-_INRS.

Original written by Audrey-Maude Ve'zina. Note: Content may be edited
for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. T.S. Barton-Maclaren, M. Wade, N. Basu, S. Bayen, J. Grundy,
V. Marlatt,
R. Moore, L. Parent, J. Parrott, P. Grigorova,
J. Pinsonnault-Cooper, V.S. Langlois. Innovation in regulatory
approaches for endocrine disrupting chemicals: The journey to risk
assessment modernization in Canada. Environmental Research, 2022;
204: 112225 DOI: 10.1016/ j.envres.2021.112225 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/04/220412095311.htm

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