Sentinels of Health Threats from Drinking Water

"You are what you drink!"

Contamination of drinking water by chemical pollutants and harmful microbes represents a significant threat to human health. A number of animal species, both aquatic and terrestrial, are sentinels of contaminated drinking water. Chemical build-up in mussels from the Upper Midwest, reproductive problems in Florida alligators, and tumors in beluga whales are warning signs of polluted waters.

USGS scientists are studying the presence of abnormal smallmouth bass in Maryland's Potomac River. These fish, termed "intersex," are neither male nor female. Intersex fish arise when natural development is disrupted by chemicals that mimic the functions of fish fertility hormones.

Not only is the sustainability of native fish populations threatened by such chemical pollutants, these abnormal intersex fish alert public health officials to potential threats to human health. Many of our rivers and harbors are freshwater sources for metropolitan drinking water. Monitoring such systems can help us better understand the risks we incur when the water is polluted.

Links to USGS Sentinel Research Projects

• Freshwater mussels as sentinels
• Intersex smallmouth bass in the Potomac River
• Endocrine disruptors in water supplies (NAWQA program)
  • USGS Fact Sheet FS-081-98
• USGS Biomonitoring of Environmental Status and Trends

More Information

• Wildlife as Sentinels of Human Health Effects in the Great Lakes: from Environmental Health Perspectives
• An Update on Estrogenic Environmental Pollutants: from Environmental Health Perspectives

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U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey
URL: http://health.usgs.gov/sentinels/drinking_water.html
Page Contact Information: Herb Buxton
Page Last Modified: 15-Jun-2006@08:37