| Health Effects in Fish of Long-Term Exposure to Effluents from Wastewater Treatment Works Katherine E. Liney,1 Josephine A. Hagger,2 Charles
R. Tyler,1 Michael H. Depledge,3 Tamara S. Galloway,2 and
Susan Jobling4 1Environmental and Molecular Fish Biology Group, School of Biosciences,
Hatherly Laboratories, The University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom; 2Ecotoxicology
and Stress Biology Research Centre, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, United
Kingdom; 3Environment Agency, Bristol, United Kingdom; 4Aquatic
Ecotoxicology Research Group, Department of Biological Sciences, Brunel University,
Middlesex, United Kingdom Abstract
Concern has been raised in recent years that exposure to wastewater treatment effluents containing estrogenic chemicals can disrupt the endocrine functioning of riverine fish and cause permanent alterations in the structure and function of the reproductive system. Reproductive disorders may not necessarily arise as a result of estrogenic effects alone, and there is a need for a better understanding of the relative importance of endocrine disruption in relation to other forms of toxicity. Here, the integrated health effects of long-term effluent exposure are reported (reproductive, endocrine, immune, genotoxic, nephrotoxic) . Early life-stage roach, Rutilus rutilus, were exposed for 300 days to treated wastewater effluent at concentrations of 0, 15.2, 34.8, and 78.7% (with dechlorinated tap water as diluent) . Concentrations of treated effluents that induced feminization of male roach, measured as vitellogenin induction and histological alteration to gonads, also caused statistically significant alterations in kidney development (tubule diameter) , modulated immune function (differential cell count, total number of thrombocytes) , and caused genotoxic damage (micronucleus induction and single-strand breaks in gill and blood cells) . Genotoxic and immunotoxic effects occurred at concentrations of wastewater effluent lower than those required to induce recognizable changes in the structure and function of the reproductive endocrine system. These findings emphasize the need for multiple biological end points in tests that assess the potential health effects of wastewater effluents. They also suggest that for some effluents, genotoxic and immune end points may be more sensitive than estrogenic (endocrine-mediated) end points as indicators of exposure in fish. Key words: endocrine, fish, genotoxic, health, immunotoxic, reproductive, wastewater treatment works. Environ Health Perspect 114(suppl 1) :81-89 (2006) . doi:10.1289/ehp.8058 available via http://dx.doi.org/ [Online 21 October 2005]
This article is part of the monograph “The Ecological Relevance of Chemically Induced Endocrine Disruption in Wildlife.” Address correspondence to C.R. Tyler, Environmental and Molecular Fish Biology Group, School of Biosciences, Hatherly Laboratories, Prince of Wales Road, Exeter, EX4 4PS, UK. Telephone: 44 1392 264389. Fax: 44 1392 263700. E-mail: c.r.tyler@exeter.ac.uk We gratefully acknowledge the support of the participating water companies in this work and the members of the research teams at Exeter and Brunel for their help in sampling the fish. We recognize the (unpublished) work of A. Filby, who developed the basis for assessing the effects of endocrine-disrupting chemicals on kidney structure in fish. We acknowledge the contribution of E. Santos in establishment of the vitellogenin immunohistochemistry protocol. The analytical chemistry was carried out by Centre for Environment, Fisheries, and Agriculture Science, Burnham-on-Crouch, United Kingdom. The authors declare they have no competing financial interests. Received 31 January 2005 ; accepted 11 July 2005.
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