An integrated assessment of estrogenic endocrine disruption in the Irish marine envrionment, with particular emphasis on chemical measurements

Abstract

Scientific awareness of the presence and effects of endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) has increased in recent decades. Many gaps in the knowledge still exist, particularly in relation to concentrations and potential for effects in marine environments. Recent legislation has led to the development of environmental quality standards (EQS) for many EDCs, some of which are extremely low concentrations which are difficult to attain with traditional analytical methods. Challenges also exist in extrapolating the potential for effects in exposed organisms due to concentrations detected in the water phase. This research forms part of a larger collaborative four year project entitled ‘Biological Effects and Chemical Measurements for the Assessment of Pollution in Irish Marine Waters’ (SeaChange). Two highly sensitive and selective liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LCMS/ MS) methods were developed and validated for the detection of steroid estrogens estrone (E1), 17 β-estradiol (E2) and 17 α-ethynyl estradiol (EE2) in seawater and biota and 4-n-nonylphenol (4-NP) and 4-tert-octylphenol (4-t-OP) in biota. Data from the polar organic chemical integrative sampler (POCIS), the biological effect alkali-labile phosphate (ALP) and estrogen luciferase reporter gene (ER-LUC) assays which were completed externally to this thesis are incorporated to support an assessment of EDC effects.