Environmental toxicology

Overview of the interdisciplinarity of environmental toxicology

Environmental toxicology, also known as ecotox, is a multidisciplinary field of science concerned with the study of the harmful effects of various chemical, biological and physical agents on living organisms.[1][2] Ecotoxicology is a subdiscipline of environmental toxicology concerned with studying the harmful effects of toxicants at the population and ecosystem levels.

Rachel Carson is considered the mother of environmental toxicology, as she made it a distinct field within toxicology in 1962 with the publication of her book Silent Spring, which covered the effects of uncontrolled pesticide use. Carson's book was based extensively on a series of reports by Lucille Farrier Stickel on the ecological effects of the pesticide DDT.[3]

An organism can be exposed to toxicants at various stages of its life cycle. The toxicity can vary with the organism's placement within its food web. Bioaccumulation occurs when an organism stores toxicants in fatty tissues, which may eventually establish a trophic cascade and the biomagnification of specific toxicants. Biodegradation releases carbon dioxide and water as by-products into the environment. This process is typically limited in areas affected by environmental toxicants.

Harmful effects of such chemical and biological agents as toxicants from pollutants, insecticides, pesticides, and fertilizers can affect an organism and its community by reducing its species diversity and abundance. Such changes in population dynamics affect the ecosystem by reducing its productivity and stability.

Although legislation implemented since the early 1970s had intended to minimize harmful effects of environmental toxicants upon all species, McCarty (2013[4]) has warned that "longstanding limitations in the implementation of the simple conceptual model that is the basis of current aquatic toxicity testing protocols" may lead to an impending environmental toxicology "dark age".

Sources of environmental toxicity

There are many sources of environmental toxicity that can lead to the presence of toxicants in our food, water and air. These sources include organic and inorganic pollutants, pesticides and biological agents, all of which can have harmful effects on living organisms. There can be so called point sources of pollution, for instance the drains from a specific factory but also non-point sources (diffuse sources) like the rubber from car tires that contain numerous chemicals and heavy metals that are spread in the environment.

PCBs

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are organic pollutants that are still present in our environment today, despite being banned in many countries, including the United States and Canada. Due to the persistent nature of PCBs in aquatic ecosystems, many aquatic species contain high levels of this chemical.[3] For example, wild salmon (Salmo salar) in the Baltic Sea have been shown to have significantly higher PCB levels than farmed salmon as the wild fish live in a heavily contaminated environment.[5]

Heavy metals

Heavy metals found in food sources, such as fish can also have harmful effects. These metals can include mercury, lead and cadmium. It has been shown that fish (i.e. rainbow trout) are exposed to higher cadmium levels and grow at a slower rate than fish exposed to lower levels or none.[5] Moreover, cadmium can potentially alter the productivity and mating behaviours of these fish. Heavy metals can not only affect behaviors, but also the genetic makeup in aquatic organisms. In Canada, a study examined genetic diversity in wild yellow perch along various heavy metal concentration gradients in lakes polluted by mining operations. Researchers wanted to determine as to what effect metal contamination had on evolutionary responses among populations of yellow perch. Along the gradient, genetic diversity over all loci was negatively correlated with liver cadmium contamination.[6] Additionally, there was a negative correlation observed between copper contamination and genetic diversity. Some aquatic species have evolved heavy metal tolerances. In response to high heavy metal concentrations a Dipteran species, Chironomus riparius, of the midge family, Chironomidae, has evolved to become tolerant to Cadmium toxicity in aquatic environments. Altered life histories, increased Cd excretion, and sustained growth under Cd exposure is evidence that shows that Chironomus riparius exhibits genetically based heavy metal tolerance.[7]

Pesticides

Pesticides are a major source of environmental toxicity. These chemically synthesized agents have been known to persist in the environment long after their administration. The poor biodegradability of pesticides can result in bioaccumulation of chemicals in various organisms along with biomagnification within a food web. Pesticides can be categorized according to the pests they target. Insecticides are used to eliminate agricultural pests that attack various fruits and crops. Herbicides target herbal pests such as weeds and other unwanted plants that reduce crop production.

DDT

Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) is an organochlorine insecticide that has been banned due to its adverse effects on both humans and wildlife. DDT’s insecticidal properties were first discovered in 1939.[6] Following this discovery, DDT was widely used by farmers in order to kill agricultural pests such as the potato beetle, coddling moth and corn earworm.[6] In 1962, the harmful effects of the widespread and uncontrolled use of DDT were detailed by Rachel Carson in her book The Silent Spring. Such large quantities of DDT and its metabolite Dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE) that were released into the environment were toxic to both animals and humans.[7]

DDT is not easily biodegradable and thus the chemical accumulates in soil and sediment runoff.[8] Water systems become polluted and marine life such as fish and shellfish accumulate DDT in their tissues.[8] Furthermore, this effect is amplified when animals who consume the fish also consume the chemical, demonstrating biomagnification within the food web.[8] The process of biomagnification has detrimental effects on various bird species because DDT and DDE accumulate in their tissues inducing egg-shell thinning.[7] Rapid declines in bird populations have been seen in Europe and North America as a result.[7]

Humans who consume animals or plants that are contaminated with DDT experience adverse health effects. Various studies have shown that DDT has damaging effects on the liver, nervous system and reproductive system of humans.[8]

By 1972, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) banned the use of DDT in the United States.[8] Despite the regulation of this pesticide in North America, it is still used in certain areas of the world. Traces of this chemical have been found in noticeable amounts in a tributary of the Yangtze River in China, suggesting the pesticide is still in use in this region.[9]

Sulfuryl fluoride

Sulfuryl fluoride is an insecticide that is broken down into fluoride and sulfate when released into the environment. Fluoride has been known to negatively affect aquatic wildlife. Elevated levels of fluoride have been proven to impair the feeding efficiency and growth of the common carp (Cyprinus carpio).[10] Exposure to fluoride alters ion balance, total protein and lipid levels within these fish, which changes their body composition and disrupts various biochemical processes.[10]

Societies

Journals

See also

References

Notes

  1. ↑ http://www.biology.sfu.ca/degree/graduate/met
  2. ↑ http://www.clemson.edu/entox/
  3. ↑ "Lucille Farrier Stickel: Research Pioneer". National Wildlife Refuge System. United States Fish and Wildlife Service. March 7, 2014. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
  4. ↑ McCarty, L.S. (Dec 2013). "Are we in the dark ages of environmental toxicology?". Regul Toxicol Pharmacol. 67 (3): 321–324.
  5. ↑ "Dioxins and PCBs report shows drop in dietary exposure over last decade | European Food Safety Authority". www.efsa.europa.eu. Retrieved 2016-02-04.
  6. ↑ Bourret, V., Couture, P., Campbell, P.G.C., and Bernatchez, L. (2008). “Evolutionary ecotoxicology of wild yellow perch (Perca flavescens) populations chronically exposed to a polymetallic gradient.” Aquatic Toxicology. 86:76-90.
  7. ↑ Bickham J.W., Sandhu S., Hebert P.D., Chikhi L., and Athwal R. (2000). “Effects of chemical contaminants on genetic diversity in natural populations: implications for biomonitoring and ecotoxicology.” Mutat Res. 463.1: 33-51.

Further reading

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