From Bloomberg News:
Gender-Bending Los Angeles Fish Raise Ocean Pollution Concerns
2005-12-02 03:00 (New York)
By Nadja Brandt
Dec. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Male fish living near sewer pipes in
Los Angeles's coastal waters are developing female sex organs,
renewing concern that contaminants dumped in the ocean 30 years
ago pose health risks.
The gender bending, the first time observed in ocean fish,
was discovered by the Southern California Coastal Water Research
Project in May. Eleven of 64 bottom-dwelling fish caught near
sewage pipes from Santa Monica to Huntington Beach had ovary
tissue in their testes, according to a study by the group.
DDT, a pesticide banned in the U.S. 30 years ago, may be
causing the abnormalities, said Dan Schlenk, an aquatic
ecotoxicologist at the University of California in Riverside and
co-author of two of three papers on the Los Angeles-area fish.
The studies are a reminder to local residents that consuming fish
from the Santa Monica Bay may pose health risks.
``If a friend came back from fishing and offered me a fish
from his boat, yeah I would eat it, but I wouldn't do it on a
regular basis,'' said Matt Stein, chief seafood officer at King's
Seafood Co., owner of Ocean Avenue Seafood in Santa Monica
California. ``Whether it's the mercury in the water or DDT, it's
all about moderation.''
Los Angeles sewers that drain into the Santa Monica Bay,
which stretches from Point Dume in the north to the Palos Verdes
peninsula in the south, served as a dumping ground for DDT,
dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane, starting in the 1950s.
Pollution
In 2000, companies including Montrose Chemical Corp. of
California, Aventis CropScience USA, Chris-Craft Industries Inc.
and Atkemix Thirty-Seven Inc. agreed to a $73 million settlement
with California and U.S. prosecutors to clean up ocean
contamination around Los Angeles, the Environmental Protection
Agency said on its Web site.
In a 1994 report, the U.S. Geological Survey identified
elevated levels of DDT and PCBs in a 17 square-mile area around
Palos Verdes, which lies about 20 miles south of downtown. Eating
fish contaminated by chemicals such as DDT and PCBs,
polychlorinated biphenyls, can increase cancer risk, harm the
liver and affect the central nervous system, the EPA said.
The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard
Assessment currently has consumption warnings for species
including white croaker, corbina, sculpin, rock fish and kelp
bass, primarily due to concerns about DDT and PCBs in the Los
Angeles area, department spokesman Allan Hirsch said.
Estrogen
DDT mimics estrogen in its effects on some animals, possibly
causing the development of female characteristics in male
hornyhead turbots and English sole, according to the study by the
Southern California Coastal Water Research Project. Other so-
called estrogenic compounds that may cause female traits may also
be found in sunscreen, Schlenk said.
``The most significant aspect of this study is that it's the
first time that we have found these kind of symptoms in salt
water fish,'' said Steve Weissberg, director at the Southern
California Coastal Water Research Institute.
The studies, which will be followed by more research, don't
address human health risks, Schlenk said. Some studies have
linked hormone-mimicking chemicals to decreased sperm counts,
altered genitalia in baby boys and premature puberty in girls.
``Exposure to DDTs and other persistent contaminants that
show estrogenic activity can occur through dietary consumption of
fish,'' Schlenk said. ``The relative risk of adverse effects
depends on the dose.''
Treatment
While the government has banned dumping toxic chemicals into
sewers, the practice left ocean outflow sites contaminated. Los
Angeles County and city together process about 650 million
gallons of waste water a day, the third-largest output in the
U.S. behind Chicago and New York City.
The county's 11 treatment plants don't filter out all
potentially harmful chemicals.
``There are some natural contaminants that treatment plants
may not catch completely such as tannins,'' said Bob Horvath,
head of Technical Services at the Los Angeles County Sanitation
District. ``These studies can't look at all of them so they focus
on key things, like hormones.''
The biggest source of ocean pollution in Los Angeles, which
has a population 3.7 million, is rain runoff from city streets,
said Hirsch of the state environment office.
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's plans for improving water
quality include revitalizing the Los Angeles River and improving
catch basins for storm water, said Nancy Sutley, deputy mayor for
energy and the environment. The mayor doesn't have a specific
plan for addressing DDT and pesticide pollution in the ocean, she
said.
Causation
``The big picture for the few fish that are left is that
they are slowly being poisoned,'' said Gordon Labedz,
conservation committee chair at the local chapter of the Sierra
Club. ``Whether it's from sewage plants or from runoff. Our
coastal ocean is at great risk in the long run.''
Local charter-boat fishermen and their clients often keep
their catch for dinner. Marina Del Rey Sportfishing hosts 20 to
40 customers a day, including customers who have returned for 15
years. Their regular catch includes rock cod, bass and halibut.
``We've been eating fish from these waters for years,'' said
Rick Arnold, 36, who has worked at the company for 21 years and
lives in Marina Del Rey. ``I am 6'5 and 300 pounds. I eat our
fish three times a week. I don't think there's anything wrong
with me.''
--Editor: Baumann
Story illustration: For the Southern California Coastal Water
Research Project, see www. http://www.sccwrp.org/. For
Heal the Bay's Web site, see: http://www.healthebay.org/. For
the
state Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, see:
http://www.oehha.ca.gov/.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Nadja Brandt in Los Angeles at (1) (323) 782-4238 or
[email protected].
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Glenn Holdcraft at (1) (212) 617-8968 or
[email protected].
Gender-Bending Los Angeles Fish Raise Ocean Pollution Concerns
2005-12-02 03:00 (New York)
By Nadja Brandt
Dec. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Male fish living near sewer pipes in
Los Angeles's coastal waters are developing female sex organs,
renewing concern that contaminants dumped in the ocean 30 years
ago pose health risks.
The gender bending, the first time observed in ocean fish,
was discovered by the Southern California Coastal Water Research
Project in May. Eleven of 64 bottom-dwelling fish caught near
sewage pipes from Santa Monica to Huntington Beach had ovary
tissue in their testes, according to a study by the group.
DDT, a pesticide banned in the U.S. 30 years ago, may be
causing the abnormalities, said Dan Schlenk, an aquatic
ecotoxicologist at the University of California in Riverside and
co-author of two of three papers on the Los Angeles-area fish.
The studies are a reminder to local residents that consuming fish
from the Santa Monica Bay may pose health risks.
``If a friend came back from fishing and offered me a fish
from his boat, yeah I would eat it, but I wouldn't do it on a
regular basis,'' said Matt Stein, chief seafood officer at King's
Seafood Co., owner of Ocean Avenue Seafood in Santa Monica
California. ``Whether it's the mercury in the water or DDT, it's
all about moderation.''
Los Angeles sewers that drain into the Santa Monica Bay,
which stretches from Point Dume in the north to the Palos Verdes
peninsula in the south, served as a dumping ground for DDT,
dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane, starting in the 1950s.
Pollution
In 2000, companies including Montrose Chemical Corp. of
California, Aventis CropScience USA, Chris-Craft Industries Inc.
and Atkemix Thirty-Seven Inc. agreed to a $73 million settlement
with California and U.S. prosecutors to clean up ocean
contamination around Los Angeles, the Environmental Protection
Agency said on its Web site.
In a 1994 report, the U.S. Geological Survey identified
elevated levels of DDT and PCBs in a 17 square-mile area around
Palos Verdes, which lies about 20 miles south of downtown. Eating
fish contaminated by chemicals such as DDT and PCBs,
polychlorinated biphenyls, can increase cancer risk, harm the
liver and affect the central nervous system, the EPA said.
The California Office of Environmental Health Hazard
Assessment currently has consumption warnings for species
including white croaker, corbina, sculpin, rock fish and kelp
bass, primarily due to concerns about DDT and PCBs in the Los
Angeles area, department spokesman Allan Hirsch said.
Estrogen
DDT mimics estrogen in its effects on some animals, possibly
causing the development of female characteristics in male
hornyhead turbots and English sole, according to the study by the
Southern California Coastal Water Research Project. Other so-
called estrogenic compounds that may cause female traits may also
be found in sunscreen, Schlenk said.
``The most significant aspect of this study is that it's the
first time that we have found these kind of symptoms in salt
water fish,'' said Steve Weissberg, director at the Southern
California Coastal Water Research Institute.
The studies, which will be followed by more research, don't
address human health risks, Schlenk said. Some studies have
linked hormone-mimicking chemicals to decreased sperm counts,
altered genitalia in baby boys and premature puberty in girls.
``Exposure to DDTs and other persistent contaminants that
show estrogenic activity can occur through dietary consumption of
fish,'' Schlenk said. ``The relative risk of adverse effects
depends on the dose.''
Treatment
While the government has banned dumping toxic chemicals into
sewers, the practice left ocean outflow sites contaminated. Los
Angeles County and city together process about 650 million
gallons of waste water a day, the third-largest output in the
U.S. behind Chicago and New York City.
The county's 11 treatment plants don't filter out all
potentially harmful chemicals.
``There are some natural contaminants that treatment plants
may not catch completely such as tannins,'' said Bob Horvath,
head of Technical Services at the Los Angeles County Sanitation
District. ``These studies can't look at all of them so they focus
on key things, like hormones.''
The biggest source of ocean pollution in Los Angeles, which
has a population 3.7 million, is rain runoff from city streets,
said Hirsch of the state environment office.
Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's plans for improving water
quality include revitalizing the Los Angeles River and improving
catch basins for storm water, said Nancy Sutley, deputy mayor for
energy and the environment. The mayor doesn't have a specific
plan for addressing DDT and pesticide pollution in the ocean, she
said.
Causation
``The big picture for the few fish that are left is that
they are slowly being poisoned,'' said Gordon Labedz,
conservation committee chair at the local chapter of the Sierra
Club. ``Whether it's from sewage plants or from runoff. Our
coastal ocean is at great risk in the long run.''
Local charter-boat fishermen and their clients often keep
their catch for dinner. Marina Del Rey Sportfishing hosts 20 to
40 customers a day, including customers who have returned for 15
years. Their regular catch includes rock cod, bass and halibut.
``We've been eating fish from these waters for years,'' said
Rick Arnold, 36, who has worked at the company for 21 years and
lives in Marina Del Rey. ``I am 6'5 and 300 pounds. I eat our
fish three times a week. I don't think there's anything wrong
with me.''
--Editor: Baumann
Story illustration: For the Southern California Coastal Water
Research Project, see www. http://www.sccwrp.org/. For
Heal the Bay's Web site, see: http://www.healthebay.org/. For
the
state Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, see:
http://www.oehha.ca.gov/.
To contact the reporter on this story:
Nadja Brandt in Los Angeles at (1) (323) 782-4238 or
[email protected].
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Glenn Holdcraft at (1) (212) 617-8968 or
[email protected].
