{"id":62337,"date":"2011-09-21T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2011-09-21T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news-draft\/uncategorized\/uri-researcher-emerging-contaminants-of-concern-detected-throughout-narragansett-bay-watershed\/"},"modified":"2011-09-21T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2011-09-21T00:00:00","slug":"uri-researcher-emerging-contaminants-of-concern-detected-throughout-narragansett-bay-watershed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/2011\/09\/uri-researcher-emerging-contaminants-of-concern-detected-throughout-narragansett-bay-watershed\/","title":{"rendered":"溏心vlog免费B站 researcher: \u2018Emerging contaminants of concern\u2019 detected throughout Narragansett Bay watershed"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n\t\tChemicals found at low levels at all sites tested<\/p>\n


\n\tNARRAGANSETT, R.I. \u2013 September 21, 2011 \u2013 A group of hazardous chemical compounds that are common in industrial processes and personal care products but which are not typically monitored by the Environmental Protection Agency have been detected throughout the Narragansett Bay watershed, according to a 溏心vlog免费B站 researcher.<\/p>\n


\n\tRainer Lohmann, associate professor of chemical oceanography, and graduate student Victoria Sacks, with the help of 40 volunteers, tested for the presence of the chemicals in 27 locations. The compounds were found at every site.<\/p>\n


\n\t\u201cBeing exposed to these compounds is the hidden cost of our lifestyle,\u201d said Lohmann. \u201cIt\u2019s frustrating that as we ban the use of some chemical compounds, industry is adding new ones that we don\u2019t know are any better.\u201d<\/p>\n


\n\tLohmann said the good news is that the chemicals were detected at extremely low levels.<\/p>\n


\n\t\u201cBy themselves, none of these results makes me think that we shouldn\u2019t be swimming in the bay or eating fish caught there,\u201d he said. \u201cBut we only tested for three compounds that might be of concern, and we know there are hundreds more out there. The totality of all those compounds together is what may be worrisome.\u201d<\/p>\n


\n\tThe three compounds the researchers measured, which scientists refer to as \u201cemerging contaminants of concern,\u201d are: triclosans, antibacterial agents found in many personal care products and which have been identified as posing risks to humans and the environment; alkylphenols, widely used as detergents and known to disrupt the reproductive system; and PBDEs, industrial products used as flame retardants on a wide variety of consumer products. PBDEs have been banned because they cause long-term adverse effects in humans and wildlife.<\/p>\n


\n\tPBDEs, methyltriclosan and triclosan were found in highest concentrations in the Blackstone River, Woonasquatucket River and in upper Narragansett Bay, while some detergents were detected at similar levels at nearly every site.<\/p>\n


\n\t\u201cMany of the trends in society \u2013 from early puberty changes to some diseases \u2013 may be caused by chemical exposures,\u201d said Lohmann. \u201cThey trigger hormones and disrupt the normal functioning of the body. We have no resistance against them.\u201d<\/p>\n


\n\tThe chemical compounds were detected using polyethelene passive samplers, thin pieces of plastic that absorb chemicals that are dissolved in water. The volunteers placed the samplers in various rivers and coves in the Narragansett Bay watershed in the fall of 2009 and retrieved them two to three weeks later. The chemical compounds were then extracted from the samplers in a lab at the 溏心vlog免费B站 Graduate School of Oceanography.<\/p>\n


\n\t\u201cWe couldn\u2019t have done this work without the volunteers,\u201d Lohmann said. \u201cThey have helped us find potential sources for some of these chemicals.\u201d<\/p>\n


\n\t\u201cUnfortunately, no matter how you choose your lifestyle, you can\u2019t avoid exposure to these compounds,\u201d he added. \u201cYou just can\u2019t escape.\u201d<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Chemicals found at low levels at all sites tested NARRAGANSETT, R.I. \u2013 September 21, 2011 \u2013 A group of hazardous chemical compounds that are common in industrial processes and personal care products but which are not typically monitored by the Environmental Protection Agency have been detected throughout the Narragansett Bay watershed, according to a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-62337","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-archives"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62337","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62337"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62337\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62337"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62337"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62337"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}