Endocrine Disruption
in the Marine Environment
Mike Waldock Cefas Weymouth Laboratory
Barrack Road WeymouthDorset. UK DT48UB
Background to EDC
• First identified from eggs and sperm in the same tissue – intersex fish in UK rivers
Background to EDC
0 20 40 60 801
10
100
1000
10000
100000
1000000
Before After
Measurements of Yolk protein in male fish blood
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 300
0.5
1
1.5
2
OH
OH
CCH3
CH
ETHYNYL OESTRADIOL
HO
CH3OH
OESTRADIOL
HO
CH3O
OESTRONE
Identification of causative substances
Testing the effects on fishVitellogenin in male trout exposed to oestrone
and 17ß oestradiol
C 6.25 12.5 25 50 100 25 25/2510
100
1000
10000
100000
1000000
10000000
100000000
Initial
Final
**
oestrone (ng/l) E2 oes/E2
Testing the effects on fish
Testing the effects on fishVitellogenin in Male Trout Exposed to Octylphenol and 17 ß oestradiol
C MC 1 10 100 1 10 10010
100
1000
10000
100000
1000000
10000000
100000000
Initial
Final
OP µg/l E2 ng/l
*
**
List of compoundsCompounds: Ethyl estradiol
(the pill) natural female hormones, industrial chemicals non-ionic surfactants, phthalates, bis phenol A, pesticides and biocides (metabolites DDE)
Effects: Estrogens – male to female. Androgens female- to male. Anti-androgens, anti-estrogens.
Could there be a problem in the open sea?
• Flounder work showing decreasing trends
• Sewage related decreasing problem
Tyne (Hebburn)
10
100
1000
10000
100000
1000000
10000000
100000000
96 97 99 00 00 01 01
VT
G
TBT
• Antifouling on yachts 60’s- 80’s and on ships to date
TBT • Good example of
endocrine disruption before we called it ED.
TBT
IRISHSEA
BRISTOL CHANNEL
ENGLISH CHANNEL
NORTH SEA
Station 6
0
10
20
30
40
50
Stage
Station 7
0
10
20
30
40
50
Stage
BU
NA
Station 60
0
10
20
30
40
50
Stage
Station 56
0
10
20
30
40
50
Stage
Station 50
0
10
20
30
40
50
Stage
Station 49
0
10
20
30
40
50
Stage
Station 88
0
10
20
30
40
50
Stage
Station 89
0
10
20
30
40
50
Stage
Station 90
0
10
20
30
40
50
Stage
Station 87
0
10
20
30
40
50
Stage
Station 111
0
10
20
30
40
50
Stage
TBT levels are decreasing and effects reducing
Shetlands monitoring by FRS
ICES Workshop and Cod
• Cod placed in cages
At 500m from platforms – 5 fold increase in VTG in male cod
At 2000m – background levels
Produced water discharges
• Largest wastewater stream in offshore oil & gas production (~ 340 x 106 m3 yr-1).
• Complex composition:– small amounts of dispersed oil– dissolved organic compounds
(including h/c) – organic acids– phenols – production chemicals – inorganic compounds
ER agonists identified in PW
OH
OH
• Isomeric mixture of C1 to C5 and C9 alkyl substituted
phenols (APs).
OH
OH
OH
OH
OH
OH
OH
Is it enough to affect cod?
• Cod work trends with age
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Ninia
n Nor
th
Andre
w
Alwyn
Nor
th
North
Cor
mor
ant
Mon
trose
Forti
es B
ravo
Mur
chiso
n
Mag
nus P
rodu
ctio
n
Pipe
r
Beryl A
Schi
ehal
lion
Salti
re
Brent
Del
taOSI
Hewet
t 48/
29A
Banff (R
amfo
rm)
ETAP
(CPF
)
Gryph
on
Sullo
m Voe
Claym
ore
Alba
North
ern
Alba
Dalm
eny
Brae
Alpha
Sou
th
North
ern
Prod
ucer
Nordi
c Apo
llo
Foin
aven
Proc
edur
al B
lank
Platform
In v
itro
ER
ag
on
ist
pote
ncy (
ng
E2
/l)
VTG in the plasma of male cod
Body length (cm)
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
VT
G (
g/ml)
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
Shetland Box
Iceland
Irish Sea
North Sea
Scott and Thain CEFAS (unpublished data)
VT
G µ
g/m
l
Results to Present
• Widespread induction in large cod• Lower but significant induction in prey fish – dab• Next steps to identify the causes (TIE)
Conclusions
• Endocrine Disruption is present in the open sea at low levels.
• TBT related specifically to antifouling paint use on shipping and is being controlled
• Effects on fish are unlikely to be from sewage discharges of hormones because dilution would be too great
• Inputs from produced water seem to be only weakly estrogenic
• The relationship with the size of the fish suggests that the effect is due to compounds bioaccumulating up the food chain
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