What’s In Your Water?

What’s in Your Water?

By: Amy Moe

 

Toxicogenomics do not make for very sexy discussions, but during a time in which people spend tens of thousands of dollars to carry a child to term, understanding the story of where your water came from can change your life. My brother works at a landscaping supply company in the Skagit Valley and is exposed to pesticides every day, — through the soil as well as the water. Dr Nancy Denslow shared her story of Legacy Contaminants as part of A Speaker Series: Toxicology and Societies: The Impacts of Chemicals in Our Lives. 

 

Her findings focused on the development of lupus as well as endocrine disruption in farm workers in Lake Apopka, Florida, using molecular biomarkers. Low-lying farmland was diked up, and sprayed with up to 68 pounds of DDT (Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane), twice a year, until 1990. Following up to complaints of transgenerational disease, the field team measured DDT blood contamination more than 25 years later, some of which had still not degraded to DDE (a breakdown product of DDT). Much like DES of the 40’s and 50’s, the legacy contaminants of big Agri-business perpetuate racial inequities and biological warfare on our future generations, where BIPOC and low-income communities are more affected by negative environmental situations. 

 

There is much still to be learned about the heritage of the mixtures and synergies of substances to which we are each exposed every day. Whether these come from toxic run off, industrial waste, medications flushed down the toilet or PFA’s, Dr. Denslow has developed a microarray analysis and molecular biomarkers to measure the effects. In one experiment, she released largemouth bass in holding ponds in the same farm fields in Florida and saw the concentrations after four months. Her team was able to significantly duplicate the same outcomes in a laboratory setting, as well as effectively testing the feminization and endocrine disruption. Much like the past farm workers, the fish suffered multigenerational hormonal impacts from these chemicals.

 

While we are fortunate in Northwest Washington to have significantly less pest issues and chemicals needed for mitigation, our crops are a significant source of income for our local economy. Operating our fields with an eye to sustainability and safety is everyone’s concern, especially when the harm can continue to our children for generations to come. Understanding how BPA’s, natural stressors and other synergistic combinations can change our genes, at a molecular level, should not just be the responsibility of the scientists, but to all members of Planet Earth.

 

Photographic Acknowledgments:

 

Cardwell, E. E. (n.d.). Spray Safe for Pesticide Safety [Photograph found in Hansen Agricultural Research and Extension Center]. Retrieved December 3, 2020, from https://images.app.goo.gl/u6QVpQxdMJLz8KAz9

Keltz, Kristen. Exit [Tulip Town]. Retrieved December 3, 2020, from https://www.facebook.com/tuliptown/photos/pcb.3479668825404344/3479668732071020/

Raver, D. Large Mouth Bass Fish Artwork Micropterus Salmoides [US Fish and Wildlife]. Retrieved December 3, 2020, from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Largemouth_bass_fish_art_work_micropterus_salmoides.jpg