Assessing the Risks of Oestrogen Pollution
NOS: Assessing risks and benefits of scientific research: the risks to human male fertility were not adequately assessed before steroids related to progesterone and oestrogen were released into the environment as a result of the use of the female contraceptive pill
- Advances in science and technology can come with potential risks which may outweigh the benefits of the research
- It is important that scientists try to establish the extent of these potential risks and their implications before making decisions on whether to continue with their research
- In the absence of a thorough risk analysis the negative impacts cannot be predicted, which may result in a series of unforeseen consequences
- The resulting consequences could have far-reaching effects which extend beyond the precise nature of the processes being studied
- For example, the use of certain fertilisers in agriculture can have a severe impact on surrounding communities with a negative effect on biodiversity
Oestrogen Pollution
- The contraceptive pill, which was introduced in 1943, can contain a synthetic version of oestrogen, called ethinylestradiol
- Over 40 years later, high levels of ethinylestradiol, attributed to contraceptive hormones, were measured in water bodies
- These levels had been building due to the accumulation of hormones from human sewage in the waterways
- Use of oestrogen based hormones in livestock also contributes to the raised levels of contraceptive hormones measured
- Studies carried out into the risks of oestrogen pollution have indicated that increased exposure could be a potential contributory factor in feminisation of fish sampled from over 50 sites around the UK
- There has also been a suggestion that oestrogen exposure may be responsible for reduced fertility in human men across the UK over the past 50 years
- Possible procedures to reduce the levels of hormones in the waterways are expensive and require more research to ensure they are effective
- While there is evidence that oestrogen pollution levels in water bodies have risen, the water and drug industries that would need to undertake these procedures claim that there is not enough evidence to be sure of a causal link between the pollution and the observed negative effects on fish and male fertility