Author(s)

Paulo Augusto Amador Pereira, Ana Júlia Lichtenfels, Luiz Alberto Amador Pereira, Olaf Malm, Paulo Hilário Nascimento Saldiva, Alfésio Luís Ferreira Braga, Chin An Lin

1Environmental Epidemiology Study Group, Laboratory of Experimental Air Pollution, University of S?o Paulo Faculty of Medical Sciences, S?o Paulo, Brazil; 2Environmental Risk and Exposure Assessment Group, Collective Health Post-Graduation Program, Catholic University of Santos, Santos, Brazil.
1Environmental Epidemiology Study Group, Laboratory of Experimental Air Pollution, University of S?o Paulo Faculty of Medical Sciences, S?o Paulo, Brazil; 2Medical Clinics Department, University of S?o Paulo Faculty of Medical Sciences, S?o Paulo, Brazil..
Environmental Epidemiology Study Group, Laboratory of Experimental Air Pollution, University of S?o Paulo Faculty of Medical Sciences, S?o Paulo, Brazil.
Program of Environmental Biophysics and Biotechnology, Institute of Biophysics Carlos Chagas Filho, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

This study investigated the effects on the reproductive system of balb-c mice exposed to water collected from different sources near to a deactivated fertilizer waste depositary. Eighty male mice were separated in four groups: Group A (mineral water); Group B (water from the water treatment station); Group C (water from Cubatao city); Group D (water from the waste depositary region). They were exposed to water since they were weaned until they reached sexual maturity, then they were coupled with females in reproductive age and after this mating time they were sacrificed. The evaluated parameters were testicle weight, sperm analysis, pregnancy rate, sex ratio of the offspring and Sertoli cell count. The analysis of the water did not show presence of pollutants in the Group “A” and Group “C” water. Group “B” showed low level of cadmium, 3.58 ± 0.50 μg/L. Group “D” showed the presence of PAH’s and high levels of lead (221 ± 16 μg/L), cadmiun (12.6 ± 1.2 μg/L) and mercury (5.3 ± 1.1 μg/L). The tests of Levene and Kolmogorov-Smirnov were employed to verify the homogeneity of the variances and the tack to the normal curve, respectively. ANOVA was used for parametric tests and Kruskall-Wallis was used for non-parametric tests, while Turkey tests were employed for multiple comparisons. There were no differences between groups in testicle weight, sperm analysis, pregnancy rate and Sertoli cell count. There was a significant reduction in sex-ratio of the offspring in Group B. This alteration cannot be explained by the cadmium levels in Group B water. In the present study we cannot associate the exposition to contaminated water from the waste depositary and reproductive alterations.

Pollution; Reproduction; Metals; Organic Pollutants; Mice

P. Pereira, A. Lichtenfels, L. Pereira, O. Malm, P. Saldiva, A. Braga and C. Lin, "Effects of Environmental Water Contamination in the Reproductive System of Mice," Journal of Environmental Protection, Vol. 4 No. 7A, 2013, pp. 121-125. doi: 10.4236/jep.2013.47A014.