Endocrine disrupting activities in sewage effluent and river water determined by chemical analysis and in vitro assay in the context of granular activated carbon upgrade

► Chemical analysis and in vitro bio-assay were used to assess endocrine disrupting activities. ► Both estrogenic and anti-androgenic activities were reduced since GAC upgrade. ► EEQ values from chemical analysis and YES are related. ► YES and anti-YAS values are related to each other. As part of en...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Chemosphere (Oxford) 2011-09, Vol.84 (10), p.1512-1520
Main Authors: Grover, D.P., Balaam, J., Pacitto, S., Readman, J.W., White, S., Zhou, J.L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Applied ecology
Applied sciences
Biological and medical sciences
Biological Assay
Charcoal - chemistry
Ecotoxicology, biological effects of pollution
EDCs
Endocrine Disruptors - analysis
Endocrine Disruptors - chemistry
Endocrine Disruptors - toxicity
Environmental Monitoring
Estradiol - analysis
Estradiol - toxicity
Estrogens - analysis
Estrogens - toxicity
Ethinyl Estradiol - analysis
Ethinyl Estradiol - toxicity
Exact sciences and technology
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
General aspects
Liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry
Pollution
Rivers - chemistry
Sewage
Sewage - chemistry
Waste Disposal, Fluid - methods
Wastewaters
Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis
Water Pollutants, Chemical - chemistry
Water Pollutants, Chemical - toxicity
Water treatment and pollution
Yeast anti-androgen screen
Yeast estrogen screen
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Summary:► Chemical analysis and in vitro bio-assay were used to assess endocrine disrupting activities. ► Both estrogenic and anti-androgenic activities were reduced since GAC upgrade. ► EEQ values from chemical analysis and YES are related. ► YES and anti-YAS values are related to each other. As part of endocrine disruption in catchments (EDCAT) programme, this work aims to assess the temporal and spatial variations of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in River Ray, before and after the commissioning of a full-scale granular activated carbon (GAC) plant at a sewage treatment works (STW). Through spot and passive sampling from effluent and river sites, estrogenic and anti-androgenic activities were determined by chemical analysis and in vitro bio-assay. A correlation was found between chemical analyses of the most potent estrogens (estrone (E1), 17β-estradiol (E2), 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2)) and yeast estrogen screen (YES) measurement, both showing clearly a reduction in estrogenic activity after the commissioning of the GAC plant at the STW. During the study period, the annual average concentrations of E1, E2 and EE2 had decreased from 3.5 ng L −1, 3.1 ng L −1 and 0.5 ng L −1 to below their limit of detection (LOD), respectively, with a concentration reduction of at least 91%, 81% and 60%. Annual mean estrogenic activity measured by YES of spot samples varied from 1.9 ng L −1 to 0.4 ng L −1 E2 equivalent between 2006 and 2008 representing a 79% reduction. Similarly, anti-androgenic activity measured by yeast anti-androgen screen (anti-YAS) of spot samples was reduced from 148.8 to 22.4 μg flutamide L −1, or by 85%. YES and anti-YAS values were related to each other, suggesting co-existence of both types of activities from chemical mixtures in environmental samples. The findings confirm the effectiveness of a full-scale GAC in removing both estrogenic and anti-androgenic activities from sewage effluent.
ISSN:0045-6535
1879-1298
DOI:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2011.04.032