Something in the water: the Pill and feminised fish debate continues

A scientific institute is anxious to downplay contraceptive pollution.

Gerard Migeon | Sep 12 2017 | comment

On July 31 Smithonian.com published an article condemning other media sources for spreading “bad science” across the internet. These media sources claimed that women’s oral contraceptives are the cause of an endemic feminization of male fish around the world.

According to the Smithsonian, we don’t know that the Pill is responsible. The institute referred to a study that looked at sources of chemicals in water ways and concluded: “So theoretically, any of those chemicals could be having a far greater impact than EE2,” which is the powerful chemical contained in a number of hormonal contraceptives.

Is that the case?

By Rankin1958 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link

The fathead minnow is one of the fish impacted by EE2 (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

Not according to Dr. Charles Tyler, a reproductive physiologist and eco-toxicologist, and Deputy Head of Biosciences at the University of Exeter, England. For the past 20 years, Tyler has devoted his research to studying the effects of chemicals that impact the hormonal systems of wildlife, mainly fish. I interviewed him in July and corresponded with him more recently about the Smithsonian article.

“There are lots of chemicals that are estrogenic, but nothing as exquisitely potent as EE2,” he told me. “If you look at the evidence objectively then it is pretty much overwhelming that this is a key player in the feminization of fish in English rivers—and likely more widely.

“My honest view is that even though I was interview by the Smithsonian, the writer of this article did not pay that much attention and had already formulated what she wanted to write and the angle of the story,” he added.

Natural Womanhood understands that it’s not fair to make women on the pill feel responsible for such a dramatic ecologic change, and that is not our goal. Smithonian.org, however, seems to be covering up for the pharmaceutical industry, with the effect of masking a major problem. It looks like they are trying to change the narrative and make it about many other causes when, in reality, hormonal contraceptives are the main culprit.

The European Commission recognized that fact when they proposed to regulate EE2 in 2012 (1). When one considers how common hormonal contraceptives are in Europe, it is difficult to imagine that they would have taken that stand lightly.

I asked James Murphy, a recognized United States expert in water law and policy, and he agreed: “Precisely no one in the water supply or water quality sectors of my business would disagree with that statement. The common knowledge is that pharmaceuticals are a problem for the treatment of wastewater as current treatment protocols do not include categorical limits for pharmaceuticals. There is universal agreement that we don’t have EPA limits for pharma because, among the many that are filtering through our municipal wastewater treatment plants, the largest component is by far estrogen from feminine birth control. Anti-depressants, etc., are ‘out there’ and environmental activists would like to address this problem; however, the birth control pill is, quite simply, sacred and off limits.”

My July interview with Dr Tyler (pictured, right) follows.

Gerard Migeon: In the past 10-15 years, you and other scientists have started raising concerns about the presence of endocrine disruptors in fresh waters and its impact on fish populations. Studies have been conducted in various parts of the world with a limited number of different species. Can you help us understand the scale of this problem today?

Charles Tyler: If we look at feminization of fish, it is widespread in the UK rivers, as up to 25 percent of male fish are affected. Feminization has been shown to occur in wildlife on every continent. While fish are perhaps amongst the most affected, it also occurs among many other species: amphibians, birds, reptiles, and even mammals like otters, seals, and whales.

GM: Can you please explain to us in lay terms and from start to finish, the key mechanisms of how EE2 ends up in fresh water and affects the biology of fish populations?

CT: Feminization of males refers to when males produce a yolk protein normally produced only by females, and/or an effect on the developing gonad, which may be the formation of a feminized reproductive duct and/or the presence of developing eggs (oocytes) in the male testes.

The fish suck a lot of the chemicals from the water and when we test what is in their body tissues, especially in the liver, we find a chemical blueprint of what we throw away down the toilets: natural steroids, contraceptive chemicals and in particular Estradiol Estrogen (EE); equine estrogen used for hormone therapy, and a series of industrial chemicals, including pesticides. There are 40,000 chemicals ….1,000 have endocrine ….200 have estrogen activity.

GM: Why is EE2 from the pill a major culprit? Are other chemicals equally responsible?

CT: EE is especially critical because it is designed to be more potent than natural steroids, and harder to degrade. It is very potent at low dosage. In addition, the receptor system of fish is very similar to that of vertebrates.

GM: Do you think that there is a potential for similar disruption among mammals, and even humans?

CT: EE2 would be effective in males if they were exposed. Drinking water is less likely to contain EE2, but has other chemicals, especially plasticizers. However, there is also a possibility of maternal transfer. We know that maternal transfer is a key root of exposure and that during development the fetus is very vulnerable so there is a greater chance of impact. However, this area is still under-researched.

(In other words, while there is currently no affordable method to clean all waste waters that go into our rivers, our drinking water is processed through filtration systems that remove toxins. The risk that Dr. Tyler refers to concerns women who get pregnant while they are on the pill; this can expose their fetus to small but potent amounts of EE. We reviewed research about this topic here. -- GM)

Gerard Migeon is the founder and CEO of Natural Womanhood, a MercatorNet partner site. This article is republished from the NW blog.

Read the original article.

Note

1. "Ethinyl Oestradiol in the Aquatic Environment Late Lessons from Early Warnings: Science, Precaution, Innovation" 279 Emerging Lessons from Ecosystems | Ethinyl Oestradiol in the Aquatic Environment. Susan Jobling, Richard Owen 2013: “In 2012, nearly 75 years after its synthesis, the European Commission proposed to regulate EE2 as a EU-wide ‘priority substance’ under the Water Framework Directive (the primary legislation for protecting and conserving European water bodies).”

September 12, 2017

“Fish becoming transgender from contraceptive pill chemicals being flushed down household drains.” That was an alarming headline in the London Telegraph recently over a theory which has been hotly denied by reproductive health advocates. Is the Pill changing the physiology of fish? And if that is true, what effects do strong estrogens have on humans? Gerald Migeon examines the evidence and interviews a leading scientist in an article below. It’s fascinating reading.