Montreal River Awash in Estrogen

The St. Lawrence River near Montreal has alarmingly high levels of estrogen, leading to the mutation of male fish, University of Montreal researchers said.

Sebastien Sauve, a professor of environmental chemistry, told the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. samples are routinely taken just downstream from the island of Montreal, and estrogen levels are high.

"What we measured is about 100 times more than the level known to have significant endocrine-disrupting effects," Sauve said.

He said the chemical estrodiol, a naturally occurring hormone that all women release, was found, along with synthetic female hormones.

"They’re really pharmaceuticals, which are used either as contraceptives or in hormone replacement therapy," he told the broadcaster.

Meanwhile, scientists at Quebec’s National Institute for Science Research studying a species of minnow in the same part of the river report finding ovaries in the testes of one-third of the males, the report said.