The results will be presented by Nancy Shappell, a research physiologist at the USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) in Fargo, N.D, on Thursday, June 29, at the 10th annual Green Chemistry and Engineering Conference in Washington, D.C. Shappell will present her paper, "Degradation of Estradiol and Ethinylestradiol With an Fe-TAML Oxidant Activator and Hydrogen Peroxide," during the Frontiers in Green Chemistry and Green Engineering section of the conference.
Fe-TAML (tetra-amido macrocyclic ligand) activators, which are synthetic catalysts made with elements found in nature, originated at Carnegie Mellon's Institute for Green Oxidation Chemistry under the leadership of Terry Collins, the Thomas Lord Professor of Chemistry in the Mellon College of Science.
"Environmental studies on various wildlife species have shown evidence that endocrine disruptors interfere with reproductive, immune and neurological capabilities and cause developmental abnormalities," Collins said. "We need to quickly develop a suite of standardized assays that test for estrogen-like activity of introduced chemicals and their byproducts so that anyone developing a new chemical technology can assess whether or not their technology is associated with endocrine disruption."
Waste from animal-rearing facilities across the United States constitutes a major concentrated source of estrogens. Millions of pigs housed in these facilities produce tons of waste products
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Contact: Lauren Ward
wardle@andrew.cmu.edu
412-268-7761
Carnegie Mellon University
26-Jun-2006