ABSTRACT
Water sources are frequently contaminated by pollutants originating from municipal and industrial wastewater efuents, as well as runoffs from agricultural areas. Without question, the contamination of freshwater will increase as the human population continues to grow, and wastewater will become an even larger fraction of the ow. Of the vast variety of man-made chemicals worldwide that have been introduced in the environment, endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) are among the most hazardous because of their activity at very low doses (WHO, 2013). As their name suggests, they interfere with the endocrine (hormonal) system, which governs the development and function of all tissues and organs (Figure 35.1). Many of the EDCs exert their effects through direct interaction with endocrine hormone receptors such as estrogen receptors (ERs), androgen receptors (ARs), thyroid hormone receptors (TRs), and other nuclear receptors involved in metabolism and differentiation: aryl hydrocarbon (AhR), retinoid X, peroxisome proliferator-activated, liver X, and farsenoid X receptors (Swedenborg et al., 2009). The World Health Organization (WHO) denes an endocrine disruptor as an “exogenous substance or a mixture that alters function(s) of the endocrine system and consequently causes adverse health effects in an intact organism, its progeny, or (sub) populations” (WHO, 2011). The Scientic Statement of the Endocrine Society postulates that EDCs have effects on reproduction, breast development and cancer, prostate cancer, neuroendocrinology, thyroid metabolism, obesity and cardiovascular endocrinology (Diamanti-Kandarakis et al., 2009). The most sensitive window for the action of EDCs is during fetal development, which may have long-lasting consequences. Thus, the harmful effects of exposure to EDCs may not be immediately apparent and could manifest later in life, making it more difcult to discern from other causes. Many EDCs could also induce harmful traits that are carried over to future generations (called transgenerational effects). These transgenerational effects frequently have an epigenetic origin. In other words, they do not result in changes of DNA sequence but are nonetheless inheritable. Thus, contamination of water sources with EDCs threatens the integrity of aquatic ecosystems and poses a serious concern for human and animal health (Diamanti-Kandarakis et al., 2009; Deblonde et al., 2011).
