The environmental compartments of environmental hormones

Compounds with estrogenic activity are ubiquitous in nature. Phytoestrogens and steroidal estrogens are found naturally in the food, in particular legumes and milk products. Naturally occurring steroidal estrogens and synthetic estrogens such as ethinylestradiol are constantly excreted into the environment as the result of the release of animal and human waste. As the result of this constant exposure, testosterone, estrogens, and ethinylestradiol are readily detectable in every stream examined in Israel. The concentrations observed of the estrogenic compounds are physiological, i.e., at these concentrations fish reproductive function can be affected. Estrogenic compounds do not usually reach the groundwater but testosterone percolates through the soil and is frequently found in the groundwater. In the dry season, there are no natural or synthetic steroids in the streams of the Jordan River watershed. However, at the beginning of the rainy season, both estrogen and testosterone reach the surface waters in the runoff from fields with manure, whereas ethinylestradiol reaches the streams in overflows from oxygenation ponds used to treat sewage prior to irrigation.