Bioaccumulation of the pharmaceutical 17α-ethinylestradiol in shorthead redhorse suckers (Moxostoma macrolepidotum) from the St. Clair River, Canada

17α-ethynylestradiol (EE2), a synthetic estrogen prescribed as a contraceptive, was measured in Shorthead Redhorse Suckers (ShRHSs) (Moxostoma macrolepidotum) collected near a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in the St. Clair River (Ontario, Canada). We detected EE2 in 50% of the fish samples caught near the WWTP (Stag Island), which averaged 1.6 ± 0.6 ng/g (wet weight) in males and 1.43 ± 0.96 ng/g in females. No EE2 was detected in the samples from the reference site (Port Lambton) which was 26 km further downstream of the Stag Island site. Only males from Stag Island had VTG induction, suggesting the Corunna WWTP effluent as a likely source of environmental estrogen. EE2 concentrations were correlated with total body lipid content (R² = 0.512, p < 0.01, n = 10). Lipid normalized EE2 concentrations were correlated with δ¹⁵N (R² = 0.436, p < 0.05, n = 10), suggesting higher EE2 exposures in carnivores. Our data support the hypothesis of EE2 bioaccumulation in wild fish.     

The use of Br/Pb ratios in atmospheric particles to discriminate between vehicular and industrial lead aerosol sources in the vicinity of a lead works—II. Ellesmere port,Cheshire

Lead and bromide in atmospheric particles were measured at two sites in the vicinity of a tetraalkyllead manufacturing plant. The Br results were used to estimate the relative proportions of vehicular and non-vehicular (presumably industrially-derived) particulate lead present in the atmosphere. The non-vehicular component was very variable over the 2-month study period, overall contributing about a quarter of the observed Pb. The relative proportions were found to be in good agreement with estimates of ground-level concentrations of Pb originating from the lead works stack derived from a Gaussian plume dispersion model.