It’s rare for the Scribbler to scribble about the same thing two evenings in a row (endocrine -disrupting chemicals in the water) …but I’ve just stumbled over a paper reporting, get this, the “estrogen-like activity of seafood.”
Researchers in the Mediterranean caught 13 types of seafood including shrimp, cuttlefish, squid, and mackerel – all part of what they call “the Italian diet.” (Hey, their names are Garritano, Pinto, Calderisi, etc., so they should know.)
When they tested their samples’ fat tissues, they found that 38 percent had estrogen-blocking contaminants in them. In the most active sample, the tested tissue was 43 percent as active as real estrogen used in controls.
Which compounds were the ones mimicking the estrogen? That’s hard to say, with around 87,000 compounds on the EPA’s list of possibilities. The team sampled for seven common types of contaminants (all PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls) and found two really interesting results.
First, 59 percent of the samples showed at least one of the seven contaminant types. But more worryingly, there was no correlation between the degree of estrogen-mimicking and the amount of the seven contaminants found in the fish.
That means that the most powerful estrogen mimics were some other kind of chemical – something not routinely tested for. And here I thought ignorance was bliss. Maybe that was the estrogen talking.
(Photo: glaucus.org.uk)
surf.bird.scribble. 
this is the first time i’ve seen this site and I have not read any of your previous articles. I must say that the findings for the estrogen blocking chemicals is very disturbing even though, and probably especially because I have no idea what effect that has on a body when consumed. Do these chemicals block my estrogen creating and imbalance with testosterone? Please forgive my ignorance, I would really like to understand this and what impact this is having on all of us. If you have the time, would you please email me? Thanks. Lelania.
Thanks for reading, Lelania. As I understand it, the kinds of estrogen mimics in this post would have the effect of tying up estrogen receptors in your cells, making it seem as if your body had more estrogen than normal.
The big question mark is how big of an effect this would cause. Or to put it another way, how many fish would you have to eat before your body started to notice the disruption. I’m sure there are scientists at work right now on that very question.
For the moment, your best bet for learning about these so-called “endocrine disruptors” is to read the Wikipedia page. That site (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Endocrine_disruptor) has a good technical description plus a collection of popular links. You can also look for further reading on this Woods Hole site: http://www.whoi.edu/institutes/coi/viewTopic.do?o=read&id=369
[…] Polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, are perennial bad guys in environmental stories (see previous scribblings about salmon, seabirds and seafood) […]