Feminized fish: Human contraceptives in water supply causing

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A leading eco-toxicologist has warned that the quantity of synthetic chemicals entering our watershed is feminizing fish populations to such a degree that several species now boast transgender and intersex fish, with eggs in their testicles.

“If you look in terms of what gets into a fish’s liver or gonad, the analysis of the chemicals it contains is a bit of a blueprint in terms of what’s flushed down the toilet,” Professor Charles Tyler, of the University of Exeter said, speaking to The Independent.

“We’re starting to establish not just effects on gender, but that they can also affect other physiological processes in the fish as well,” he added.

The research identified more than 200 chemicals in river water which had characteristics similar to estrogen and antidepressants.

Endocrine disruptors, the chemicals found in pesticides, detergents, certain foods, the contraceptive pill and cosmetics are the type of chemical responsible for the marked change in sexuality and behavior of fish.

A separate study from 2010 found that more than 80 percent of male bass fish in the Potomac river in Washington DC exhibited female traits, including growing eggs in their testes as a result of rainwater and sewage water containing a mix of endocrine disruptors entering the area's watershed.

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