Assessment of Endocrine Disrupting Potential of Industrial Effluents and Surface Water of Kelani River using Bioanalytical Tools
Summary
The project is aimed at promoting environmentally sustainable industrialization in the country causing minimum impacts on the environment and general public. The research will generate new knowledge on the endocrine disruption potentials of industrial effluents/ wastewaters reaching Kelani River and surface water of Kelani River as the first study that will be conducted in Sri Lanka with regard to endocrine disruption in effluents and surface waters. The findings of the study will reveal about the need of upgrading the relevant industrial effluent treatment facilities to enable the treatment of endocrine disrupting chemicals to safeguard the environment and human health in both existing generations and future generations as well. The overall results of the research project will be forwarded to the regulatory authorities to formulate/ revise the policies relevant to industrial effluent discharges. It is expected that the regulations imposed on industrial effluent quality should be reviewed both nationally and internationally to assure the biological safety of the native biota including humans Further, the methods validated in this study using Kelani River as the model ecosystem, could be adapted as an integral part of the water quality/effluent quality monitoring for screening impacts of industrial effluents reaching other water resources in the country
Objectives
1. To Evaluate the biomarker responses relevant to Endocrine Disruption in vertebrate model, zebra fish, exposed to known EDCs under laboratory-controlled conditions and to validate the
biomarker responses and establish optimum exposure conditions for testing endocrine disruption.
2. To analyze selected in-situ and ex-situ parameters including selected heavy metals Cu, Cd, Cr. Pb and selected EDCs associate with the industrial effluents and surface water of the Kelani River
3. To Evaluate the endocrine disruptive potential of using validated endocrine disruption biomarkers of zebra fish
4. To make the relevant authorities aware about the findings of the research project (if significant findings obtained) and to make recommendations to the government authorities and industrial management about the importance of assessing endocrine disruption impacts of the industrial effluents and surface water of Kelani River considering the environmental and human health