Transcript Wastewater Treatment Plant Perspectives: Preliminary Data

From Treatment Plants to Turbots:
Data Suggesting Effects From
Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals in
Wastewater Discharged into
the Pacific Ocean
Jeffrey L. Armstrong, Ph.D.
Environmental Assessment Division
Orange County Sanitation District
Love those Acronyms!

CEC = Contaminants of Emerging Concern

CPC = Contaminants of Potential Concern

PPCP = Pharmaceuticals and Personal
Care Products

EDC = Endocrine Disrupting Chemical

PPCP ≠ EDC, CEC/CPC ≠ EDC
What are EDC’s???

EDCs directly affect the endocrine system


e,.g., birth control, thyroid medication
Also called hormonally active agents,
endocrine active chemicals, estrogen
mimics,

Xenoestrogens = man-made compounds
(e.g., birth control)

Phytoestrogens = naturally occurring estrogen
compounds (e.g., lilac)
EDCs are not just hormones!

Of course, they include hormones, but
they’re also:

Pharmaceuticals (b-blockers, birth control)

Personal care products (sun screen)

Industrial chemicals (plasticizers)

Pesticides (organochlorine compounds)

Legacy contaminants (DDT, PCB)
Endocrine disruption is not just
“girly fish”

Gender Effects


Stress response (Cortisol
inhibition)


Growth and repair, immune
function, reproduction
Behavioral changes


Feminization or masculinization
Decreased territoriality, color
changes, predator response
Reproductive impairment

Sperm DNA Damage
What are the issues?
 Where
are EDCs coming from?
 Are
endocrine disrupting chemicals
adversely affecting wildlife? Humans?
 What
can be done about them?
 Does
anything need to be done about
them?
 What
about water reclamation efforts?
Sources of EDCs

Agricultural Runoff

Industrial Waste

Prescription / Non-prescription
pharmaceuticals

Wastewater Effluent

Many references in the scientific literature

Ole’ Miss Study
Ocean Discharge of Effluent
PLANT
NO.1
Huntington
Beach
Newport Bay
PLANT
NO. 2
Huntington
Pier
Newport
Beach
120-inch Dia. Pipeline
4 ½ Miles Out
200 Feet Deep
Newport
Pier
Balboa
Pier
1 Mile Long
Diffuser with 500 ports
Corona
Del Mar
What is OCSD doing
about EDCs?

Conducting collaborative studies with
universities and other researchers.

Universities provide expertise OCSD lacks

OCSD provides:

Ecological expertise

In-kind services (vessel, crew and equipment)

Funding of graduate students
EDC Exposure to Flatfish
 Cortisol

Inhibition
Dr. Kevin Kelley CSU Long Beach, OCSD
 Estrogenicity

Dr. Dan Schlenk UC Riverside, OCSD
 Sperm

DNA Damage
CSC Biomarker Lab (San Diego, CA), OCSD
OCSD Monitoring Area
O
O
Cortisol Production Effects
 Produced
via the HPI Axis in response
to a stressor

Stressors = chemical, physical,
environmental
 Cortisol
production is:

metabolically expensive

Inhibited by chronic stress
Peak Cortisol Concentrations in
Post-trawl Flatfish
ENGLISH
SOLE
160
Cortisol (ng/ml)
140
120
100
80
60
HORNYHEAD
TURBOT
40
20
n=30
n=40
n=31
n=40
REF.
Ref.
OUTFALL
Outfall
0
REF.
Ref.
OUTFALL
Outfall
Peak Cortisol
Hornyhead Turbot from Different Locales
160 -
San Diego
Co.
cortisol (ng/ml)
140 120 -
Santa
Monica Bay
100 80 60 -
Orange C0.
40
20
T11
T1
4006
4037
4036
4320
Reproductive/Gender Effects
 Reproductive
Effects

DNA Damage

Behavioral Effects
 Gender
Effects

Estrogenicity

Androgenicity
Sperm DNA Damage
 Studies
conducted 2000–2004
 Comet Assay
 DNA damage
consistently greater at
Outfall Station over Reference Station
Sperm DNA Damage
English Sole Gonad
4
3
Outfall
Station
Tail
2
Moment
Reference
Station
1
0
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
Proportion of plasma vitellogenin
levels at given concentrations
in male hornyhead turbot
100%
90%
80%
Percentage
70%
>0.45 ng/ug
60%
0.31-0.45 ng/ug
50%
0.15-0.30 ng/ug
40%
<0.15 ng/ug
30%
20%
10%
0%
Outfall
Outfall
July '03 n=5 Jan '04 n=7
Outfall
Aug '04
n=10
Sam pling Site and Period
Reference
Jan '04
n=54
Proportion of plasma vitellogenin levels at
given concentrations in male English sole
100%
90%
80%
Percentage
70%
>8.0 ng/ug
60%
6.1-8.0 ng/ug
50%
4.1-6.0 ng/ug
40%
2.0-4.0 ng/ug
30%
<2.0 ng/ug
20%
10%
0%
Outfall
July '03
n=30
Reference
July '03
n=29
Outfall
Jan '04
n=8
Reference
Jan '04
n=13
Sam pling Site and Period
Outfall Reference
Aug '04 Aug ' 04
n=12
n=25
Percentage of M ales
Proportion of hornyhead turbot and
English sole males collected at the outfall
and reference site: 1988 - 2004
Hornyhead
Turbot From
Outfall
Hornyhead
Turbot From
Reference
English Sole
From Outfall
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
1985
1990
1995
Year of Sampling
2000
2005
English Sole
From
Reference
Expected
Conclusions of EDC
Studies to Date



Indications of Feminization

Increased [vitellogenin] in males – both species

Increased sperm DNA damage in HT
Indications of Masculinization

Increased male GSI – both species

Higher proportion of male HT
ES Stress and Growth Factor Hormone
Production Inhibited at the Outfall

HT expression inhibited at all sites
Conclusions in
Context to OCSD

OCSD effluent is a source of EDCs


Flatfish in OCSD monitoring area show evidence of EDC
exposure


Does exposure equal effect?
No population-level effects observed


Not the only source
Yet??? Other effects??? Endpoints???
Definitive cause-effect studies needed linking specific
chemicals to receiving water impacts
Is mitigation necessary?

Pharmaceutical Take-back Programs

Public Education


Proper disposal of pharmaceuticals, personal
care products, and pesticides/herbicides
Treatment Options

Reverse Osmosis

Microfiltration

Ozonation
Studies in Progress

Estrogenicity in Flatfish
UC Riverside, Doctoral Student Research

Correlation of EDCs
in Fish Tissues to POTW Effluent,
Sediments, and Infauna (Fish food)
CSU Long Beach, OCSD, and City of LA

Cortisol Inhibition and Fish Parasitization
CSU Long Beach

Endocrine Disruption in Coastal Flatfish
SCCWRP, OCSD, LACSD, CLAEMD, CSD, UC Riverside,
CSU Long Beach, UC San Diego
Acknowledgements

CSU Long Beach, CA
Dr. Kevin Kelley Professor of Endocrinology
Julianne Kalman Post Doctoral Researcher, Lecturer
Jesus Reyes Laboratory Researcher
Kathy Sak Laboratory Researcher

U.C. Riverside, CA
Dr. Dan Schlenk Professor of Aquatic Toxicology
Dr. Luke Roy Masters Graduate (UCR)
Mary Ann Rempel Doctoral Candidate

Computer Sciences Corp., San Diego, CA
Scott Steinert
Dr.
Jeff Armstrong
(714) 593-7455
[email protected]
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