Aquatic toxicity of pharmaceuticals and personal care products

本研究计划的总体目标是评估水生生物（包括鱼类和水螅（小型淡水无脊椎动物））暴露于药物和个人护理产品（PPCP）混合物的生理、生长、生殖和发育影响。废水处理厂（WWTPs）不断向水生生态系统释放含有痕量PPCPs的废水。例如，加拿大流出物中布洛芬的浓度高达22 µg/L。此类化学品的慢性影响可能大于急性影响，因为长期接触低浓度的化学品。PPCPs有两个方面特别成问题：它们被设计为通过改变重要的生理/生化功能对生物系统产生影响; PPCPs被不断引入地表沃茨（假持久性），导致水生生物群长期接触。 虹鳟鱼的研究（Oncorhynchus mykiss），佛罗里达旗鱼（Jordanella floridae）和日本青鳉（Oryzias latipes），（后两种是发育和毒性研究中常用的小型淡水鱼模型）利用部分生命周期或全生命周期研究，将评估预测早期生命阶段暴露于流出物污染物的亚致死效应的能力，以及简单混合物的组合。污染物对虹鳟鱼生命早期阶段的影响将与对旗鱼和青鳉鱼的多代影响进行比较。还将对两种水螅，即绿色水螅（Hydra viridissima）和棕色水螅（Hydra oligactis）进行类似的暴露。酶和其他生物标志物、生长、生殖终点和第二代健康之间的相关性将与特定的接触浓度和接触时间相关。将鱼类暴露于真实的经处理的污水中，作为南安大略水联合会的一部分，使用目前正在圭尔夫建设的原位实验室。这将允许比较暴露于含有复杂污染物混合物的稀释的经处理的污水流出物的影响与在实验室中观察到的涉及受控的PPCP暴露和简单污染物混合物的影响。这一信息将使人们更好地了解这种痕量PPCP污染物对鱼类种群的生理、生长、繁殖、发育和生存的影响。它还将协助开发更好的处理工艺，以确定主要污染物，并协助开发更好的处理方法，以尽量减少经处理的污水中PPCPs的影响。虹鳟鱼和美国旗鱼的反应将在整个生物体，器官，组织和生物组织的生化水平进行比较，以确定有用的生物标志物的暴露和影响，成功地预测整个生物体的影响。 这项拟议的研究计划将加强努力，以评估这种复杂的化学品混合物的鱼类物种在野外以及在实验室的情况下，并允许更准确地了解这种污染物暴露在不同的空间和时间尺度上的影响。这些知识将提高我们管理复杂污水中污染物的能力，如处理过的污水，以保护重要鱼类种群的健康，造福所有加拿大人。

The overall objectives of this research program are to assess the physiological, growth, reproductive and developmental effects of exposure to mixtures of pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) in aquatic organisms, including fish and hydra (small freshwater invertebrates). Waste water treatment plants (WWTPs) continuously release effluent containing trace levels of PPCPs into aquatic ecosystems. For example, the concentration of ibuprofen in a Canadian effluent was found to be up to 22 µg per L. Such chemicals are more likely to have chronic than acute effects, with exposure to low levels occurring for long periods of time. Two aspects of PPCPs which are particularly problematic are: they designed to have effects on biological systems by modifying important physiological/ biochemical functions; and, PPCPs are being continuously introduced into surface waters (pseudo-persistence) resulting in extended exposures to aquatic biota. Studies on rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), Florida flagfish (Jordanella floridae) and Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes), (the latter two are small model freshwater fish commonly used in developmental and toxicity studies) utilizing either partial life-cycle, or full life-cycle studies, will assess the ability to predict sublethal effects of early life-stage exposure to effluent contaminants, both individually, and in a combination of simple mixtures. Contaminant effects on rainbow trout early life stages will be compared to multi-generational effects on flagfish and medaka. Similar exposures to two species of hydra, the green hydra (Hydra viridissima) and the brown hydra (Hydra oligactis) will also be undertaken. Correlations between enzyme and other biomarkers, growth, reproductive endpoints and second generation health will be made in relation to specific exposure concentrations and exposure times. Exposure of fish to real treated sewage effluents of will be undertaken as part of the Southern Ontario Water Consortium using the in-situ laboratory presently under construction in Guelph. This will permit comparison of the impacts of exposure to dilute treated sewage effluent containing complex mixtures of contaminants to the effects observed in the laboratory involving controlled PPCP exposures and simple contaminant mixtures. This information will result in increased understanding of the impacts of such trace PPCP contaminants on the physiology, growth, reproduction, development and survival of fish populations. It will also assist in the development of better treatment processes to identify key contaminants and assist in developing better treatments to minimise the impacts of PPCPs in treated effluents. Rainbow trout and American flagfish responses will be compared at the whole organism, organ, tissue and biochemical levels of biological organisation to determine useful biomarkers of exposure and effects that successfully predict whole organism impacts. This proposed research program will enhance efforts to assess the impacts of such complex mixtures of chemicals to fish species in the wild as well as in laboratory situations, and to permit more precise understanding of the impacts of such contaminant exposure on different spatial and temporal scales. Such knowledge will increase our ability to manage contaminants in complex effluents such as treated sewage to safeguard the health of important fish populations for the benefit of all Canadians