Cleaning up our act: the hormonal impact of chemical discharges on fish

Key staff

Professor Charles Tyler, Dr Eduarda Santos, Dr Amy Filby, Dr Ronny van Aerle, Dr Anke Lange, Dr Patrick Hamilton, Dr Lisa Bickley, Dr Ok-Hyun Lee, Dr Greg Paull, Jan Shears, Dr Tetsu Kudoh

Ground-breaking research into endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs), led by Professor Charles Tyler, has helped clean up rivers around the world with an estimated saving to the UK economy around £60 million a year. Professor Tyler showed that EDCs from both domestic and industry sources can find their way into rivers, where they harm the reproductive capability of male fish.

This led to a £40 million UK programme to remove EDCs from wastewater, helping to protect fish stocks and generate efficiency savings for industry. It has also influenced the development of OECD test guidelines for detecting EDCs and the EU’s REACH chemical registration programme and stands to continue delivering impact following major laboratory investment.