Question

Some pharmaceutical products known as endocrine disruptors have been known to convert male frogs and alligators into female frogs and alligators. Using the internet as your primary source of information and in three paragraphs, tell us what are these drugs and tell us your feelings about the pollution of our waterways with these drugs when they are flushed down the sinks either accidentally or purpose.

Answer 1

Hi Answer:

Answer: The endocrine disruptors commonly known as EDCs are the chemicals which disturb the functioning of endocrine gland and its secretion in various animals such as frogs and alligators and due to which the male animal start behaving like a female. This EDC includes drugs or components of drugs, human or cattle secretion (estrogens or steroids) and other some synthetically made chemicals such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), DDT, and some other pesticides. The EDCs are the threat for aquatic ecosystem because due to the sex change capabilities they are able to destroy the population of various aquatic animals.

The most common natural EDCs are the human and animal estrogen hormones which are flushed out from their body as waste and it mixes with the water bodies. These natural and synthetic EDCs especially estrogens enter into the environment by means of human and animal excretions and from contraceptive medicines, respectively. As these estrogens come out of the body, it mixed with the wastewater and directly or indirectly reached into the aquatic environment. The aquatic animals are very much susceptible to these EDCs as they spent their whole lifespan in water, so they get maximum exposure of EDCs pollution. These estrogens also interfere with sexual development as well as the reproduction process of aquatic animals. Some time these EDCs are used to treat some problem such as to get rid of some insects and pests but due to their tetracyclic ring structure they are not easily degraded in the environment and finally reaches into our water bodies and harm the aquatic ecosystem. It is also observed that sometimes these EDCs comes into the environment as a by-product or remains of some medicines through human secretions or industrial waste.

To get rid of these EDCs there are many chemicals, physical as well as biological approaches are used. The chemical and physical approaches have some side effects and also costly. The best alternative is to degrade or vanish thee EDCs from the aquatic environment is the biological method of their degradation. In this technique, these EDCs are consumed by the microbial system as their energy and carbon source and either EDCs are consumed or changed into less harmful by-products. This method is economically feasible as well as it has no side effects.