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Aquatic Sentinels Forecasting Human Exposure To Emerging Contaminants
Citation:
Lazorchak, Jim, Joel Allen, D. Lattier, AND M. Kostich. Aquatic Sentinels Forecasting Human Exposure To Emerging Contaminants. UC Environmental Public Health Class, Cincinnati, Ohio, April 11, 2018.
Impact/Purpose:
Overview of the importance of sentinel animal approaches to human and ecological health
Description:
Most of us have heard the axiom, “canary in the coal mine”. These melodious exposure indicators - a necessity in U.K. mines well into the 20th century - were especially sensitive to methane and carbon monoxide gases, and would cease singing (and oftentimes die) at levels far below those deleterious to humans. The fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas (FHM)) plays a similar role as an aquatic vertebrate toxicological model for the regulatory communities in the US and abroad. This sexually dimorphic teleost has been used for decades as a sentinel for aquatic monitoring and remains a standard model for aquatic toxicity testing for risk assessment. FHM are also used extensively in a broad range of environmental analyses, from effluent monitoring to pesticide registration to evaluation of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs). Using this widely dispersed teleost and other sentinel invertebrates, aquatic ecosystems can offer a paradigm similar to the coal mine, in which human exposure to contaminants such as EDCs and pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) can be detected in advance of an inadvertent episode. The general public as well as legislators have for years been made aware of numerous ecological and wildlife anomalies such as the accumulation of fire retardants and chemicals like PFOS, the key ingredient in Scotchgard®, in tissues of Arctic polar bears, dolphins in Florida, seals and otters in California, and albatross in the mid Pacific. This ‘exposure at a distance,’ in addition to recently observed intersex fish found in the Potomac River, has prompted concerned citizens to ask, “What does this mean for our children?” This presentation will explore the potential of genomic tools for use in early exposure assessments for protection of ecological and human health.