At high trophic levels, several environmental contaminants, such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and polybrominated flame retardants (PBDEs) have been found to affect endocrinological processes governing growth and reproduction. Less attention has been paid to species at lower trophic levels, and it is presently unclear whether or not the lower levels of contaminants observed at lower trophic levels are able to exert negative effects on important endocrinological process governing growth and reproduction.The aim of the present study was to use the house sparrow (Passer domesticus) as a low trophic level model species to study the effects of environmental contaminants on endocrinology. We analysed the levels of some selected PCBs , PBDEs [TS]) in adult house sparrows from a population on the island Leka, mid Norway. Plasma samples were analysed for steroid hormones by gas chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) and liver samples were analysed for environmental contaminants by gas chromatography-electron capture detection (GC-ECD) and gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS). It was hypothesized that POPs may have endocrine disrupting effects on the local house sparrow population and can thus interfere with the steroid hormone homeostasis.Bivariate correlations revealed negative relationships between PCB-118 and βE2 and p,p'-DDE, ∑OCPs and E1 among female house sparrows. Among male sparrows, bivariate correlations indicted positive relationships between DHT levels and PCB-118, BDE-100 and ∑PCBs. Furthermore, positive relationships were found between AN and TS levels and beak length, as well as ornamental traits such as badge size category and area of the total badge size in males. Although sparrows are in the mid-range trophic levels, the present study indicates that POPs may affect steroid homeostasis in house sparrows, in particular for females. For males, circulating steroid levels appears to be more associated with biometric parameters related to elaborate traits.

Improper handling of plastic waste and related chemical pollution has garnered much attention in recent years owing to the associated detrimental impacts on human health and the environment. This article reports an overview of the main interlinkages between persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and plastic in the waste management system of India. Both plastics and POPs share certain common traits such as persistence, resistance to biological degradation, and the ability to get transported over long distances. Throughout the processes of production, consumption, and disposal, plastics interact with and accumulate POPs through several mechanisms and end up co-existing in the environment. Plastic waste can undergo long-range transport through rivers and the oceans, break down into microplastics and get transported through the air, or remain locked in waste dump yards and landfills. Over time, environmental processes lead to the leaching and release of accumulated POPs from these plastic wastes. Plastic recycling in the Indian informal sector including smelting, scrubbing, and shredding of plastic waste, is also a potential major POPs source that demands further investigation. The presence of POPs in plastic waste and their fate in the plastic recycling process have not yet been elucidated. By enhancing our understanding of these processes, this paper may aid policy decisions to combat the release of POPs from different waste types and processes in India.

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