Public support asked for more research into intersex fish mystery

The Potomac Conservancy is sponsoring a campaign to educate citizens and government officials about the mystery of intersex fish in polluted waterways.

They are urging people to sign a petition asking members of Congress for more money to research intersex fish and endocrine-disrupting compounds.
In a recent media conference call, U.S. Geological Survey fish pathologist Dr. Vicki Blazer, Potomac Conservancy president Hedrick Belin and Virginia Congressman Jim Moran discussed the nationwide intersex fish problem that has also emerged in other countries.

Blazer first got involved after fish kills occurred in 2002 in the South Branch of the Potomac River and Shenan-doah River, primarily affecting small-mouth bass. The fish had skin lesions and they also identified immature eggs in the testes of the male bass.

A high incidence of intersex fish has been found in the region’s rivers and tributaries, Blazer said.

Endocrine disruption
Connections were found bet-ween the intersex fish condition and emerging contaminants known as endocrine disruptors, Blazer said.

Endocrine disruptors mimic or disrupt endocrine system functions, either alone or together with other chemicals, according to Potomac Conser-vancy’s 2009 State of the Nation’s Rivers report.

In common products
Endocrine disruptors include chemicals in such items as shampoos, birth control pills, suntan lotion, product fragrances, food containers
and children’s clothing.

Prime sources of the endocrine - disrupting river contaminants include agricultural or industrial byproducts, such as herbicides and pesticides, veterinary pharmaceuticals, prescription and over-the-counter medications, feedlot waste, landfill leachate, stormwater runoff and municipal and industrial sludge.

The highest levels of these contaminants were found in fish brains, their eggs and the lowest level in the fish muscle.

Blazer said Pennsylvania researchers are testing for contaminants in the Schuylkill River and the Allegheny River. She noted that the incidence of intersex fish in the Allegheny River is very low.

The highest level of intersex fish is in some rural areas in the Shenandoah River and the South Branch of the Potomac, Blazer said. Belin noted that the public gets their drinking water from the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers.

Effect on health?
Moran thought the intersex fish emergence was like a “canary in a coal mine warning us.” He added that this is the first generation to be exposed to post-World War II chemicals in the environment.

The asthma rate in children has tripled, one in six kids has developmental disorders, cancer is the leading cause of death in children and diabetes has quadrupled, he said.

Moran noted that a study showed 232 chemicals in the umbilical cord blood of newborns. He felt there is more evidence that the effects of these chemicals could be extending to the human population.

“We need to fully study it,” he emphasized.

Research
Moran, a senior member of the Appropriations Committee and chair of the Subcommittee on the Interior and the Environment, hopes to put more than $30 million into research.

He is sponsoring legislation to provide funding to research the cause of intersex fish and the effect of endocrine disruptors on human health, and to invest in technology that can filter contaminants from the drinking water supply and sewage plant output.

Moran wanted companies to thoroughly research any new chemicals. He also encouraged programs to return unused pharmaceuticals to keep them out of the drinking water.

Blazer said they are going into smaller tributaries and doing sampling and looking at individual fish tissues.

She isn’t seeing a big difference regionally in the amount of intersex fish upstream or downstream. They are looking at agricultural factors to try to pinpoint the source.

What people can do
Don’t dump pharmaceuticals down the toilet or dump things along roadways, Moran said. Turn in unused drugs. Be sparing with fertilizer.
Blazer said to be careful of what personal care products one uses. Avoid anti-microbials and fragrance-filled products.
Remember Styrofoam and plastic don’t disintegrate and can get into the fish.

Future generations
Moran wants to know how the issue relats to human health and to children’s health and said that it is time for action.

Hedrick also wondered what the issue means for children.