HP9 Endocrine Disrutpion: Steroids and Hormones
Room 12A/B, Level 4
2:10 PM - 5:30 PM, Thursday, 13 November 2003
Chair: Sibley, Paul ,
(631) Occurrence and Fate of Steroid Hormones with Pheromonal Properties from Anthropogenic Sources.
Kolodziej, E1, Sedlak, D1, 1 University of California, Berkeley
ABSTRACT- Many fish use the same steroid hormones commonly found in municipal wastewaters as reproductive pheromones to initiate behavioral and physiological changes during spawning. To better understand the occurrence and fate of these steroid hormones in the natural environment, several steroid hormones from various anthropogenic sources were extracted using solid phase extraction (SPE) and quantified by gas chromatography/tandem mass spectroscopy (GC/MS/MS). Estrogens, androgens, and a synthetic progestin were detected in samples from different sources at ng/L concentrations. The measured concentrations of steroid hormones often exceeded olfactory detection thresholds at which fish detect pheromonal steroids and, in several cases, the steroid concentrations were comparable to levels at which physiological or behavioral responses have been observed in fish. In addition, data from an engineered treatment wetland receiving municipal wastewater effluent and contaminated shallow groundwater wells suggest that these compounds were not rapidly attenuated.
Key words: Estrogens, Androgens, Progestins, Pheromones