EAGER: PPER: Empowering Citizen Scientists to Reduce Sources of Emerging Contaminants

在某些个人护理产品的生命周期的不同阶段，包括制造、使用和处置，内分泌干扰化合物被引入环境中。尽管废水必须经过处理才能达到许可要求，但内分泌干扰化合物目前没有受到监管，因此污水处理厂在排放前将其去除的程度差别很大。公民科学家有可能在科学发现过程中发挥重要作用，他们可以参与确定潜在的行动方案和所需的立法。该项目的目标是让公民科学家收集和报告有关水中干扰内分泌的化合物水平的数据。这项研究最终可能导致苏斯奎哈纳河流域内分泌干扰物的数量减少。该项目中使用的方法有可能具有变革性，并可应用于美国各地正在应对鱼类数量下降和污染物浓度增加的其他流域。项目研究人员招募了大约50-60名志愿公民科学家参加数据生成和焦点小组会议，以最终确定减少环境中内分泌干扰化合物的方法。在这项研究项目中，公民科学家：1)使用研究人员开发的内分泌干扰化合物足迹工具来估计他们的个人护理、家庭清洁和洗衣产品中内分泌干扰化合物的质量；2)从苏斯奎哈纳河流域采集水样，用于分析来自药品、个人护理产品和杀虫剂的50多种内分泌干扰化合物；3)参加焦点小组会议，以确定研究需要和优先事项、可能的行动方针以及与减少苏斯奎哈纳河流域的内分泌干扰化合物有关的可取立法。公民科学家从内分泌干扰化合物足迹工具和水质数据中产生的数据提供了潜在的强大洞察力，使公民科学家能够将他们使用的常见内分泌干扰化合物产品与地表水中存在的内分泌干扰化合物联系起来。这一知识将使公民科学家能够积极做出个人决定，以减少内分泌干扰化合物来源。宾夕法尼亚州立大学调查研究中心的加入为团队带来了独特的焦点小组专业知识。通过宾夕法尼亚州立大学的水质实验室设施和美国农业部的分析化学专业知识，确保产生高质量的内分泌干扰化合物数据。这项提案中使用的方法有可能具有变革性，并可应用于美国各地正在应对鱼类数量下降和内分泌干扰复合问题的其他流域。

Endocrine disrupting compounds are introduced into the environment during various stages of the life cycle of certain personal care products including manufacturing, use, and disposal. Although wastewaters must be treated to meet permit requirements, endocrine disrupting compounds are currently not regulated and therefore the extent to which sewage treatment plants remove them prior to discharge varies widely. Citizen scientists have the potential to play a significant role in the scientific discovery process, and they can participate in identifying potential courses of action and desired legislation.  The goal of this project is to involve citizen scientists in collecting and reporting data concerning the levels of endocrine-disrupting compounds in the water. This study eventually could lead to a reduction in the amount of endocrine disrupting compounds in the Susquehanna River Basin. The methods used in this project have the potential to be transformative and to be applied to other watersheds across the United States that are coping with fish population declines and increasing contaminant concentrations. The project researchers are recruiting approximately 50-60 volunteer citizen scientists to participate in data generation and focus groups meetings to ultimately identify ways to reduce endocrine disrupting compounds in the environment. In this research project, citizen scientists: 1) employ an endocrine disrupting compound footprint tool developed by the researchers to estimate the mass of endocrine disrupting compounds in their personal care, household cleaning, and laundry products; 2) collect water samples from locations across the Susquehanna River Basin to be be analyzed for more than 50 endocrine disrupting compounds from pharmaceuticals, personal care products, and pesticides; 3) participate in focus group meetings to identify research needs and priorities, potential course of action, and desired legislation related to reducing endocrine disrupting compounds in the Susquehanna River Basin. Data generated by the citizen scientists from the endocrine disrupting compound footprint tool and the water quality data provides a potentially powerful insight to enable the citizen scientists to link their usage of common endocrine disrupting compound-containing products to the presence of endocrine disrupting compounds in surface water. This knowledge will empower the citizen scientists to actively make personal decisions to reduce endocrine disrupting compound sources. The inclusion of the Penn State Survey Research Center brings unique focus group expertise to the team. The analytical chemistry expertise through Penn State's water quality laboratory facilities and the USDA ensures that high quality endocrine disrupting compound data is generated. The methodologies used in this proposal have the potential to be transformative and to be applied to other watersheds across the United States that are coping with fish population declines and endocrine disrupting compound concerns.