Occurrence, toxicity and ecological risk of Bisphenol A analogues in aquatic environment – A review

Numerous studies have investigated the environmental occurrence, human exposure, and toxicity of bisphenol A (BPA). Following stringent regulations on the production and usage of BPA, several bisphenol analogues have been produced as a replacement for BPA in various applications. The present review outlines the current state of knowledge on the occurrence of bisphenol analogues (other than BPA) in the environment, consumer products and foodstuffs, human exposure and biomonitoring, and toxicity. Whereas BPA was still the major bisphenol analogue found in most environmental monitoring studies, BPF and BPS were also frequently detected. Elevated concentrations of BPAF, BPF, and BPS (i.e., similar to or greater than that of BPA) have been reported in the abiotic environment and human urine from some regions. Many analogues exhibit endocrine disrupting effects, cytotoxicity, genotoxicity, reproductive toxicity, dioxin-like effects, and neurotoxicity in laboratory studies. BPAF, BPB, BPF, and BPS have been shown to exhibit estrogenic and/or antiandrogenic activities similar to or even greater than that of BPA. Knowledge gaps and research needs have been identified, which include the elucidation of environmental occurrences, persistence, and fate of bisphenol analogues (other than BPA), sources and pathways for human exposure, effects on reproductive systems and the mammary gland, mechanisms of toxicity from coexposure to multiple analogues, metabolic pathways and products, and the impact of metabolic modification on toxicity.

Background Increasing concern over bisphenol A (BPA) as an endocrine-disrupting chemical and its possible effects on human health have prompted the removal of BPA from consumer products, often labeled “BPA-free.” Some of the chemical replacements, however, are also bisphenols and may have similar physiological effects in organisms. Bisphenol S (BPS) and bisphenol F (BPF) are two such BPA substitutes. Objectives This review was carried out to evaluate the physiological effects and endocrine activities of the BPA substitutes BPS and BPF. Further, we compared the hormonal potency of BPS and BPF to that of BPA. Methods We conducted a systematic review based on the Office of Health Assessment and Translation (OHAT) protocol. Results We identified the body of literature to date, consisting of 32 studies (25 in vitro only, and 7 in vivo). The majority of these studies examined the hormonal activities of BPS and BPF and found their potency to be in the same order of magnitude and of similar action as BPA (estrogenic, antiestrogenic, androgenic, and antiandrogenic) in vitro and in vivo. BPS also has potencies similar to that of estradiol in membrane-mediated pathways, which are important for cellular actions such as proliferation, differentiation, and death. BPS and BPF also showed other effects in vitro and in vivo, such as altered organ weights, reproductive end points, and enzyme expression. Conclusions Based on the current literature, BPS and BPF are as hormonally active as BPA, and they have endocrine-disrupting effects. Citation Rochester JR, Bolden AL. 2015. Bisphenol S and F: a systematic review and comparison of the hormonal activity of bisphenol A substitutes. Environ Health Perspect 123:643–650; http://dx.doi.org/10.1289/ehp.1408989

Pharmaceutical residues in the environment, and their potential toxic effects, have been recognized as one of the emerging research area in the environmental chemistry. The increasing attention, on pharmaceutical residues as potential pollutants, is due that they often have similar physico-chemical behaviour than other harmful xenobiotics which are persistent or produce adverse effects. In addition, by contrast with regulated pollutants, which often have longer environmental half-lives, its continuous introduction in the environment may make them "pseudopersistents". Pharmaceutical residues and/or their metabolites are usually detected in the environment at trace levels, but, even that, low concentration levels (ng/L or microg/L) can induce to toxic effects. In particular, this is the case of antibiotics and steroids that cause resistance in natural bacterial populations or endocrine disruption effects. In this study, an overview of the environmental occurrence and ecological risk assessment of pharmaceutical residues is presented from literature data. Risk Quotient method (RQ) was applied as a novel approach to estimate the environmental risk of pharmaceuticals that are most frequently detected in wastewater effluents, surface waters and sediments.