Joanne L. Parrott

Research Scientist - Section Chief Priority Substances Effects

Canada Centre for Inland Waters (Burlington, ON)

CURRENT S&T / RESEARCH - Contributing to Environment Canada’s mandate to conduct research on the effects of contaminants and other substances of concern on fish

• Development of fish bioassays for reproductive and endocrine effects, using reproductive endpoints (egg production and sex characteristics) for use in environmental risk assessments and Canadian regulatory programs
• Fish lifecycle tests cover all stages of a fish life, and so represent the closest we can get in the lab to predict effects on wild fish in Canadian environments
• Testing effluents (pulp mill and municipal wastewater effluent) and individual chemicals (such as hormones, pharmaceuticals, industrial chemicals) effects on fish in the lab
• Assessing sediment mixtures of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs, from Hamilton Harbour) and sediments from oil sands in Alberta for effects in larval fish

PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES / INTERESTS

Member of OECD Ecotoxicological tests for endocrine-disrupting substances (EDS)

Water S&T lead for effects of pharmaceuticals in the environment

Member of Environmental Assessment Work Group (EAWG) that will recommend new environmental risk assessment for food and drug act chemicals (including pharmaceuticals and personal care products)

Elected to Board of Directors of SETAC (Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry) 2005-2008

KEY PUBLICATIONS

Parrott, J.L. and D.T. Bennie. 2009. Lifecycle exposure of Fathead minnows to a mixture of six common pharmaceuticals and triclosan. J Toxicol Environ Health, Part B, in press.

Parrott, J.L., M.E. McMaster and L.M. Hewitt. 2006. A decade of research on the environmental impacts of pulp and paper mill effluents in Canada: Development and application of bioassays. J Toxicol Environ Health, Part B, 9:297-317.

Parrott, J.L. 2005. Overview of methodology and endpoints in fathead minnow lifecycle tests assessing pulp mill effluents. Water Qual Res J Can 40(3): 334-346

Parrott, J.L. and B.R. Blunt. 2005. Life-cycle exposure of fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas) to an ethinylestradiol concentration below 1 ng/L reduces egg fertilization success and demasculinizes males. Environ Toxicol 20(2):131-141.

Parrott, J.L., C.S. Wood, P. Boutot and S. Dunn. 2004. Changes in growth, secondary sex characteristics and reproduction of fathead minnows exposed for a lifecycle to bleached sulphite mill effluent. J Toxicol Environ Health, Part A, 67:1755-1764.

Parrott, J.L., M. Wade, G. Timm and S. Brown. 2001. An overview of testing procedures and approaches for identifying endocrine disrupting substances. Water Qual Res J Can 36(2):273-291.