At a Glance

Everyday items like shampoo and laundry detergent, along with pesticides and even hormones are having an effect on fish.Fish populations are not in immediate danger, but subtle changes can add up over time and could have a negative impact on the ecosystem.

Pollutants in 16 rivers feeding the Great Lakes are changing the hormones that regulate reproduction and metabolism in fish, a study says.

A team of scientists led by DirectorHeiko Schoenfuss from theAquatic Toxicology Laboratory at St. Cloud State University, Minnesota, looked at the water quality of 16 rivers, including the Cuyahoga River that feeds into Lake Erie in Cleveland, which is infamous for a massive fire that ignited in 1969 from the pollution in the river.

“The because it highlighted the obvious manifestation of pollution,” Michael Murray, a staff scientist for the National Wildlife Federation’s Great Lakes Regional Center, told the Great Lakes Echo. “Many say it helped spur Congress to write theClean Water Actback in 1972.”

According to their reportpublished in the Mayedition of the journal ScienceDirect, like shampoo and laundry detergent, along with pesticides and even hormones are having an effect on fish.

Nearly 50 years after the great fire, the Cuyahoga River is better than it once was but remains the most polluted of the 16 rivers studied.

“In the upstream regions where you have a lot of agriculture, you see a lot of pesticides or hormones,” Schoenfuss said. “When you get downstream, you see more urbanization where wastewater treatments plants and home septic systems will discharge those pollutants.”

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Agnieszka Wooten, a long-time resident of Cleveland who enjoys kayaking on the river, says the trash thrown into the river is concerning.

“The farther up stream you go, especially during the rainy seasons, trash gets washed upstream,” she said. “You’ll see condoms, bottles, sanitary napkins that people dispose of.”

Schoenfuss said fish populations are not in immediate danger,but noted that subtle changes can add up over time and could have a negative impact on the ecosystem.

The researcher noted that the fish are safe to eat.

“I would definitely eat a fish out of the Cuyahoga River,” he said.