Soy estrogen laces paper-mill wastes
By Janet Raloff
Scientists have attributed many of soy’s heart-healthy and anticancer benefits to its rich supply of several estrogen-mimicking compounds. One of these, genistein, has now been found in trees, which explains why significant amounts of the hormonal pollutant taint paper-mill effluent.
Biologists have been examining paper-mill wastes as a likely source of chemicals contributing to the delay or lack of fertility seen in some Great Lakes fish over the past decade (SN: 11/ 4/95, p. 295). Initially, researchers focused on the mills’ release of sitosterol, a bark-derived compound that can mimic estrogen.