You are here:
Pharmaceuticals in the environment - exposure, effects and risks to humans and ecosystems: what we think we know
Citation:
LAZORCHAK, J. M., M. KOSTICH, A. BATT, E. L. QUINLAN, D. C. BENCIC, AND S. GLASSMEYER. Pharmaceuticals in the environment - exposure, effects and risks to humans and ecosystems: what we think we know. Presented at Indiana Environmental Health Summit, Indianapolis, IN, May 15, 2009.
Impact/Purpose:
A great deal of uncertainty exists regarding the extent to which humans and wildlife are exposed to chemical stressors in aquatic resources. Scientific literature is replete with studies of xenobiotics in surface waters, including a recent national USGS survey of endocrine disrupting chemicals; however, biological significance of these chemical data is in question since chemical bioavailability is largely unknown and biological events may be induced by undetected chemicals and varying ecological conditions (i.e., total nitrogen and phosphorus). Whole effluent toxicity data exist, but do not answer specific exposure questions that may support detailed ecological risk assessments. Interpretation of data arising from exposure to complex chemical mixtures is even more problematic. A solution to these problems is development of sensitive and specific cellular indicators of exposure in aquatic organisms. The potential for development is enhanced by emergent resources in molecular biology and associated technologies, most notably DNA microarrays consisting of transcriptionally relevant nucleic acid sequences that can be used to detect altered gene expression in cells, tissues and various life stages of organisms exposed to chemical and natural stressors.
Description:
Presentation at the Indiana Environmental Health Summit, May 15, 2009