Endocrine Disruptors in Wastewater

Wastewater

Any used water is known as wastewater. It has substances that must be filtered out and cleaned like human waste, food scraps, oils, soaps, and cleaning products. There are two different kinds of wastewater. These are residential wastewater and commercial wastewater.

In homes this includes any water from toilets, showers, sinks, washing machines and dishwashers. Commercially, wastewater is a byproduct of the industrial process. This can include the mining industry, the oil industry, food and beverage companies, and power plants. The production of commercial wastewater is massive and difficult to control. Regardless of where the wastewater originates, it can contain harmful chemicals like endocrine disruptors.

• agricultural runoff
     
• chlorination
     
• industrial waste

Agricultural Runoff

Pesticides are chemicals aimed at pests such as weeds and bugs and often used in large scale agriculture to protect crops. There are more than 50 pesticide active ingredients that have been identified as endocrine disruptors by the European Union. Some of these pesticides have been linked to endometriosis, obesity and diabetes, decreased sperm counts, thyroid issues, and breast cancer.

Pesticides can leach into water sources through a variety of reasons. Many pesticides are soluble in water for ease of use, but subsequently have a higher likelihood of leaching into groundwater.

Irrigation management is another way pesticides can make it into water. Irrigation to the point of oversaturation promotes runoff and leaches chemicals into surface water. Additionally, saturation of soil past the root increases the amount of pesticides found in groundwater.

Once pesticides reach the groundwater, it is extremely difficult to clean up. Since it takes so long for groundwater to reach the water sources, it can be decades before the pollution is noticed.

Ocean Water

The ocean is a vast place. For decades, society has uses oceans as a place for waste disposal away from humans. The assumption that oceans are stable enough to absorb all the wast we put in. Recently, there has been a shift towards the understanding of our effect on the oceans.

Endocrine disruptors are not only detrimental to the health of humans, but impact the lives of all living organisms, including oceanic creatures. In the oceans, corals, oysters, and mussles. Endocrine disruptors have been linked to decreased fertility in orcas as well as

Mercury is an endocrine disruptor found in many seafood products. Methylmercury targets the nervous system and kidneys in all ages. Mercury concentration in fish can be up to 10 times more than in water.

Industrial Waste

Commercial businesses and industries are huge producers of waste and pollution in water. Many industries use water as a cleaner for machinery or during production of goods and becomes contaminated. These byproducts are often still full of contaminants when it re-enters the water system. This causes Endocrine Disruptors to leach into water supplies and increases hormone levels in groundwater.