Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #119400

Sonal Sharma, MBBS¹, Stephannie Thacker, BS², Piero Gardinali, PhD², Quentin Felty, PhD², and Deodutta Roy, PhD³. (1) SSPH, FIU, HLSII 591, 11200 SW 8th St, Miami, FL 33199, 3053481694, sonal.sharma@fiu.edu, (2) Robert Stempel School of Public Health, Florida International University, HLS-II 591, 11200 SW 8th Street, Miami, FL 33199, (3) Stempel School of Public Health, Florida International University, HLSII 595, 11200 Southwest 8th Street, Miami, FL 33199

Natural and medicinal estrogens from human and animal wastes enter rivers, lakes and oceans through sewage waste water effluents. Both natural and synthetic estrogens produce reproductive abnormalities and other non-carcinogenic disorders. The continuous exposure of low levels of estrogens may pose health risks to sensitive subpopulations. Our objective was to determine the potential exposure and its hazard from natural and medicinal estrogens to humans participating in ocean-related recreational activities. EPA methods for RfD, exposure, margin of exposure (MOE), and hazard quotient (HQ) were used. The values for RfD for adult males, pre and post menopausal and pregnant females, and children were 0.02, 0.002, 0.03, 0.0025 and 0.0025 mg/day, respectively. Levels of estrone, 17-beta-estradiol, 17-alpha-estradiol, and estriol in sea waste water treatment effluents ranging from 15 pg/L-80 ng/L, 1-27 ng/L, 0.5-42 ng/L, 1-250 ng/L, respectively, are observed globally. In the Florida Keys we detected levels of estrone and 17-beta-estradiol ranging from 0.74-5.25 ng/L and 0.27-1.84 ng/L, respectively. The estimate of potential daily exposure from different routes to these compounds for men, women and children were 0.035, 0.042, and 0.024 ug/kg, respectively. The hazard quotients are higher than 1 for all age and gender groups. The hazard quotient could be an overestimate, as it was extrapolated from the effluent and the ocean water levels and may not be representative of biologically absorbed dose. Since excessive estrogens can be harmful to human health, it is critical to ensure by biomonitoring that the residues of these estrogenic compounds are not present in ocean water.

Learning Objectives:

• Raise public and professional awareness of the necessity of biomonitoring of estrogenic compounds in ocean water

Keywords: Endocrine, Water Quality

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.