An integrated evaluation of molecular marker indices and linear alkylbenzenes (LABs) to measure sewage input in a subtropical estuary (Babitonga Bay, Brazil)

Microbial water quality and sedimentary faecal sterols as markers of sewage contamination in Kuwait

“…It is also worthy to note that Saeed et al (2012), reported the highest values of coprostanol (41,228 ng g À1 dw) at Al-Fintas (S09 in this current study), which is also where a review of the EPA microbial water quality data recorded extremely high episodic pulses of microbial contamination. In comparison to studies conducted elsewhere the levels of coprostanol measured were similar to surface sediments from Venice Lagoon, Italy (40-4410 ng g À1 ; Fattore et al, 1997); Sochi, Black Sea Russia (54-5400 ng g À1 ; Readman et al, 2005), the Danube coastline, Black Sea Ukraine (170-2600 ng g À1 ; Readman et al, 2005), Babitonga Bay, Brazil (30-6080 ng g À1 ; Martins et al, 2014) and Cienfuegos Bay, Cuba (10-5400 ng g À1 ; Tolosa et al, 2014).…”

“…To gain a full understanding of sewage input and source, the analysis of coprostanol is also assessed in relation to other sterols. For example, epicoprostanol, an isomer of coprostanol, can be used as a marker to indicate the level of treatment or age of the faecal matter (Readman et al, 2005;Martins et al, 2014;Tolosa et al, 2014). This compound is a by-product of sewage treatment systems and will only occur in low concentrations if the sewage is not treated or only partially treated, increasing in anoxic environments such as sewage sludge .…”

Submerged Groundwater Discharges as Source of Fecal Material in Protected Karstic Coastal Areas

“…Sterols and stanols are classically used as molecular markers to characterize the sources of natural organic matter (e.g., marine and terrigenous) [10,11] and to identify anthropogenic inputs (e.g., fecal material related to human activities) [12][13][14]. Due to their ubiquity and diagenetic and chemical stability, these compounds have been widely used as tracers for the sources, transport, and transformation of biogenetic material [15,16] in coastal zones [11,17,18].…”

“…The most common phytosterols are campesterol, stigmasterol, and -sitosterol, which come from decomposed vegetation [10,23], as well as dinosterol, which is specifically produced by dinoflagellates [24]. Contributions from anthropogenic fecal sources can be characterized via the occurrence of the 5 -stanol C 27 (e.g., coprostanol and epicoprostanol) compounds [11][12][13][14]25] that are byproducts of intestinal anaerobic microbial reduction of cholesterol in higher animals [12].…”

Thiosteranes in samples impacted by fecal materials and their potential use as marker of sewage input

“…It has been used extensively to track fecal contamination from wastewater, septic tank sewage and wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) (Carreira et al, 2004;Chou and Liu, 2004;Grimalt et al, 1990;Leeming et al, 1997;Mudge et al, 1999;Sojinu et al, 2012;Standley et al, 2000;Takada et al, 1997). However in many cases the use of a single compound does not allow source identification (Blanch et al, 2006) and it is often necessary to integrate other tracers or tools to determine precisely the origin of contamination (Biache and Philp, 2013;de Abreu-Mota et al, 2014;Derrien et al, 2011;Gourmelon et al, 2010;Jard e et al, 2009;Martins et al, 2014).…”