Short-term lab exposures of immature rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) to sulfite and kraft pulp-mill effluents: effects on oxidative stress and circulating sex steroids.

This study investigates the temporal onset of reactive oxygen species (ROS) damage and changes in circulating sex steroids in immature rainbow trout exposed over 21 d to two pulp-mill effluents. Exposure to effluent from a bleached sulfite mill produced increases in 2-thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase (EROD) activity, hepatic free iron, and significant depressions in hepatic ascorbic acid. Impairments in pregnenolone production relative to cholesterol availability suggest an effect of sulfite-mill effluent early in the steroidogenic pathway. Induction of vitellogenin in immature fish exposed to effluent from this mill, relative to waterborne 17 beta-estradiol treatments, indicated sulfite-mill effluent contained constituents capable of binding the estrogen receptor. Exposure to a kraft-mill effluent also elevated hepatic TBARS, tissue normalized fatty acyl-coenzyme A oxidase (FAO) activity, and hepatic free iron while producing commensurate declines in hepatic ascorbic acid. Plasma testosterone, 11-ketotestosterone, and 17 beta-estradiol were elevated with kraft-mill effluent exposure, but no changes in vitellogenin induction were observed. In summary, effluent from bleached sulfite and bleached kraft mills yielded similar oxidative stress responses, but marked differences were observed in the endocrine-disrupting potential of each effluent.