Page 78 - University of Pretoria RESEARCH REVIEW 2018

Linking the environment and health Natalie Aneck-Hahn, Department of Urology, and Environmental Chemical Pollution,
and Health Research Unit (ECPH)
Africa faces a number of unique environmental challenges and there is, in general across the continent, a lack of institutional capacity to support comprehensive environmental studies. Many industrial processes and consumer products are sources of potential endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), with proven negative health effects, including cancer and reduced fertility.
Postgraduate student Mandy Naude collecting post-treatment water from the Rietvlei Water Treatment Plant.
Researchers at the Environmental Chemical Pollution and Health Research Unit (ECPH) have been
busy identifying and quantifying the levels of EDCs in South Africa. In 2018, a team of researchers investigated the levels of DDT metabolites in
men of reproductive age in rural villages in the Vhembe District of
the Limpopo province. Men living in villages where dwellings are routinely sprayed had significantly higher concentrations of DDT and DDE isomers, as well as significantly higher levels of free testosterone, and lower concentrations of follicle stimulating hormone. The research findings, published in Environment International, support previous studies that have revealed links between congenital birth defects in male babies, and epigenetic theories that these defects may negatively influence long-term male fertility.
Dr Natalie Aneck-Hahn and Professor Tiaan de Jager, and their research team and collaborators, also measured the endocrine activity of selected cling film brands, and of plastic bottles used for commercially available bottled water. Of eight common cling film brands used in South Africa, one brand had a very high concentration of DEHA, which is associated with adverse health effects and carcinogenic risks.
Cancer risks resulting from exposure to DEHA are equal to about five in
1 000 people, which is 50 times higher than the acceptable cancer risk. The findings, published in Human and Ecological Risk Assessment in 2018, show that only two of the eight cling film brands were below the detection limit for all target chemicals, and also had the CANSA-smart choice seal of approval. In a similar study, published in Journal of Water and Health, testing the levels of plasticisers in plastic water bottles, Dr Aneck-Hahn and co-workers found negligible levels of plasticisers and estrogenic equivalent compounds in the water stored in the bottles, confirming that bottled water brands in South Africa were safe for human consumption.
Given the international importance of the health effects of EDCs on humans, Dr Natalie Aneck-Hahn, Director of the ECPH, contributed to a study, published in the Water Research Journal, evaluating the endocrine activity in water samples from six countries – Germany, Australia, France, South Africa, the Netherlands and Spain. Samples of drinking water did not have any bioassay activity
and low concentrations of chemicals, indicating that in these six countries, drinking water was safe for human consumption.
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