November 30, 2009

Science News Daily - Beefy hormones: New routes of exposure

Written by: Jessica Behnham

NEW ORLEANS On any given day, some 750,000 U.S feedlots are beefing up between 11 million and 14 million head of cattle. The vast majority of these animals will receive muscle-building steroids — hormones they will eventually excrete into the environment. But traditional notions about where those biologically active pollutants end up may need substantial revising, several new studies find. They were reported at the annual meeting of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, which ended Monday.