ABNORMALITIES IN THE REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH OF FLOUNDER PLATICHTHYS-FLESUS EXPOSED TO EFFLUENT FROM A SEWAGE-TREATMENT WORKS

A large number of substances in daily use are now known to mimic the f emale sex hormone oestrogen, These include DDT, some PCBs, components of food packaging materials and certain alkylphenolic substances which may arise from alkylphenol polyethoxylates used in detergents, paints and cosmetics, Indicators of reproductive health including gonad morp hology, hepatosomatic index (HSI) and serum levels of the egg protein vitellogenin (VTG) were determined for wild populations of the flounde r, Platichthys flesus, Fish were obtained from three sites in northern England; the Solway Firth which receives only low levels of sewage ef fluent and two sites in the Tyne Estuary which receives effluent from a major sewage treatment works and a number of industrial discharges, Four lines of evidence suggest that the reproductive health of flounde r is being influenced by exposure to oestrogenic substances, I, Male f ish with serum containing VTG, a reliable bio-indicator of oestrogen e xposure, were recorded from all the sites studied, Frequency of occurr ence was lowest (20%) in the Solway population and reached 60% at one of the sites in the Tyne, 2. Serum concentrations of VTG were also hig hest in fish from the Tyne stations, 3, Male fish from the Tyne also d isplayed high levels of testicular abnormalities (up to 53% of fish) c ompared to the Solway population (no abnormalities recorded) and 4, th e HSI of male flounder from the Tyne were significantly greater than f or males from the Solway site. This study is the first to demonstrate oestrogenic effects on a wild population of a marine fish exposed to s ewage effluent, The high levels of abnormalities recorded raises conce rns about the long term health of fish populations in areas receiving large volumes of effluent, these are discussed. (C) 1997 Elsevier Scie nce Ltd.