Research

WET | Other Analyses | Research | Publications

Endocrine Disrupters

Recently, scientific evidence has alerted public health officials, environmental scientists and the drinking water industry that diverse classes of chemicals found in the environment can disrupt the endocrine systems of fish, wildlife, and possibly humans, resulting in measurable, adverse health effects. A number of researchers have suggested that declining sperm counts and increasing rates of breast, prostate and testicular cancers in humans may be due to estrogenic compounds found in the environment. Consequently, the USEPA has deemed the study of endocrine disrupters a high priority. It is only a matter of time before regulations concerning the discharge of these compounds are promulgated.  The Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene’s Environmental Toxicology Department has been involved in many projects to examine endocrine disrupters in the environment, including:

• The prevalence and significance of estrogenically active compounds in public water supply source waters and in industrial and municipal effluents impacting those source waters was assessed from 2000-2003. The data reported provided important information to the drinking water industry regarding the actual occurrence of compounds with estrogenic activity in a large cross section of both source waters and finished drinking waters as well as in effluent streams impacting these source waters. For more information, please see the following publications: Hemming et al. 2003, Drewes et al. 2005 and Drewes et al. 2006.


• In 2007, the Environmental Toxicology Department began a project examining the presence, persistence and biological effects of natural and synthetic hormones that may be released into the environment from concentrated animal feed operations (CAFOs).  This research will help evaluate the effects of different animal waste disposal practices on the fate and activity of these compounds and also help determine whether CAFO waste is an important source of endocrine disrupting chemicals in the environment.

Milwaukee and Dallas Airport Deicer Runoff

The WSLH Environmental Toxicology Department has worked with the United States Geological Survey (USGS) to determine the toxicity of airplane deicing chemicals from runoff at the Milwaukee, Wisconsin and Dallas, Texas airports. Whole effluent toxicity organisms (fathead minnow, Ceriodaphnia dubia and algae) have been exposed to deicing event samples that occur in the winter months. For more information, please see the following publications: Corsi et al. 2001, Cancilla et al. 2003 and Corsi et al. 2006 (3 publications).

Alternative Aircraft and Airfield Deicing and Anti-Icing Formulations with Reduced Aquatic Toxicity and Biological Oxygen Demand

Fish Pathogens

Whole Effluent Toxicity (WET) Testing is used to measure, predict and control the discharge of materials that may be harmful to indigenous aquatic life. Unlike most environmental analyses, the WDNR requires that receiving waters (the water body which the effluent is discharged into) be used as dilution water in WET tests in order to simulate the aquatic environment into which the effluent is introduced. In approximately 25% of the WET tests conducted by Wisconsin certified labs since 1990, a "pathogenic effect" (i.e. >20% mortality and high variability in the control) has caused failure of the receiving water controls during the fathead minnow chronic test. The expense of repeating tests and the risk of producing false data make it imperative to investigate the causes of this receiving water problem and to recommend procedural solutions. In 1998, the WSLH’s Environmental Toxicology Department began researching potential causes of this phenomenon and ways to eliminate it. For more information, please see the following publication: Geis et al. 2003.

Bioavailability of Trace Metals in Marine and Estuarine Harbors

The WSLH’s Environmental Toxicology Department worked closely with the University of Wisconsin's Environmental Chemistry and Technology Program on a research project funded by the Department of Defense (DoD). The joint project focused on the fate and impact of trace metals (particularly copper and zinc) from DoD sources in harbors and estuaries. The labs assessed the chemical forms of copper and zinc present and took measurements of actual exposure in indigenous biota as well as laboratory-based bioassays with speciated metals. In addition, the labs identified sources of copper and zinc from DoD sources. For more information, please see the following publications: Tang et al. 2003, Tang et al. 2004, Tang et al. 2005 and Karner et al. 2006.

Toxicity of Air Particulates

The Environmental Toxicology Department along with the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene's Air Chemistry Department examined the toxicity and chemistry of industrial aerosols. Air filters collected in the midwest from urban and rural areas were extracted with water and organic solvents. The toxicity of these extracts was then determined using Ceriodaphnia dubia, fathead minnows, algae and Microtox®, and submitochondrial particles. For more information, please see the following publications: Sheesley et al. 2004 and Sheesley et al. 2005.