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Estrogenic Effects of Treated Sewage Effluent on Fish in English Rivers 995
note, a so-called “demonstration program,” led by the U.K. Environment Agency and involving the water
companies, is investigating technologies for the removal of endocrine-disrupting chemicals from treated
sewage effluents. It is envisaged that this program will result in the development and implementation of
cost-effective improvements in the treatment of STW effluents on a national scale and, in turn, lead to
lower discharges of EDCs and a reduction of their impact on wild fish living in U.K. rivers.
Acknowledgments
We would like to acknowledge our colleagues in the Environmental and Molecular Fish Biology Group
at Exeter University and colleagues at Brunel University who have contributed in generating the data in
fish in English Rivers and Essex, as well as Suffolk Water for access to their mesocosm facility. The
Centre for Environment, Fisheries, and Aquaculture Science is credited for some of the analytical
chemistry on U.K. STW effluents. The fieldwork on endocrine disruption in fish in English rivers has
been funded by the Natural Environment Research Council, the U.K. Environment Agency’s National
Centre for Ecotoxicology and Hazardous Substances, and the Department of the Environment, Transport
and the Regions (now DEFRA).
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