Comparative analysis of estrogenic activity in sewage treatment plant effluents involving three in vitro assays and chemical analysis of steroids

Rutishauser, Barbara V.; Pesonen, Maija; Escher, Beate I.; Ackermann, Gabriele E.; Aerni, Hans‐Rudolf; Suter, Marc J.‐F.; Eggen, Rik I.L.

doi:10.1897/03-286

Cited by 159 publications

(99 citation statements)

References 61 publications

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“…Rutishauser et al (2004) showed that in-vitro tests were able to detect oestrogenic effects in effluents from these compounds and bisphenol A. An assessment of oestrogen removal efficiency for WTW in the UK (Johnson et al, 2007b) showed simple biological plants to be poor with only about 30% removal.…”

Section: Wastewater Treatmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Review of risk from potential emerging contaminants in UK groundwater

Stuart

Lapworth

Crane

et al. 2012

Science of The Total Environment

675

284

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This paper provides a review of the types of emerging organic groundwater contaminants (EGCs) which are beginning to be found in the UK. EGCs are compounds being found in groundwater that were previously not detectable or known to be significant and can come from agricultural, urban and rural point sources. EGCs include nanomaterials, pesticides, pharmaceuticals, industrial compounds, personal care products, fragrances, water treatment by-products, flame retardants and surfactants, as well as caffeine and nicotine. Many are relatively small polar molecules which may not be effectively removed by drinking water treatment. Data from the UK Environment Agency's groundwater screening programme for organic pollutants found within the 30 most frequently detected compounds a number of EGCs such as pesticide metabolites, caffeine and DEET. Specific determinands frequently detected include pesticides metabolites, pharmaceuticals including carbamazepine and triclosan, nicotine, food additives and alkyl phosphates. This paper discusses the routes by which these compounds enter groundwater, their toxicity and potential risks to drinking water and the environment. It identifies challenges that need to be met to minimise risk to drinking water and ecosystems.

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Section: Wastewater Treatmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Review of risk from potential emerging contaminants in UK groundwater

Stuart

Lapworth

Crane

et al. 2012

Science of The Total Environment

675

284

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“…Assay procedure and data analysis were conducted as described previously (Routledge and Sumpter 1996;Rutishauser et al 2004), with several modifications to test water samples directly and to accelerate the sample throughput. Minimal medium was prepared by supplementing ultrapure water with 0.67% w/v yeast nitrogen base without amino acids, 2% w/v D-(+)-glucose, and the appropriate amino acids.…”

Section: Yeast Estrogen Screenmentioning

confidence: 99%

Endocrine disruptors in bottled mineral water: total estrogenic burden and migration from plastic bottles

Wagner

Oehlmann

2009

Environ Sci Pollut Res

294

178

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Background, aim, and scope Food consumption is an important route of human exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals. So far, this has been demonstrated by exposure modeling or analytical identification of single substances in foodstuff (e.g., phthalates) and human body fluids (e.g., urine and blood). Since the research in this field is focused on few chemicals (and thus missing mixture effects), the overall contamination of edibles with xenohormones is largely unknown. The aim of this study was to assess the integrated estrogenic burden of bottled mineral water as model foodstuff and to characterize the potential sources of the estrogenic contamination. Materials, methods, and results In the present study, we analyzed commercially available mineral water in an in vitro system with the human estrogen receptor alpha and detected estrogenic contamination in 60% of all samples with a maximum activity equivalent to 75.2 ng/l of the natural sex hormone 17β-estradiol. Furthermore, breeding of the molluskan model Potamopyrgus antipodarum in water bottles made of glass and plastic [polyethylene terephthalate (PET)] resulted in an increased reproductive output of snails cultured in PET bottles. This provides first evidence that substances leaching from plastic food packaging materials act as functional estrogens in vivo.Discussion and conclusions Our results demonstrate a widespread contamination of mineral water with xenoestrogens that partly originates from compounds leaching from the plastic packaging material. These substances possess potent estrogenic activity in vivo in a molluskan sentinel. Overall, the results indicate that a broader range of foodstuff may be contaminated with endocrine disruptors when packed in plastics.

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“…Samples were enrichedbymeansofsolid-phaseextraction (SPE) and the extract was analyzed in the YES, a yeast-based reporter gene assay. [11] The estrogenic activity of the samples was expressed as 17β -estradiol equivalents (EEQs, in ng/l); [18] 17β -estradiol being the standard in the YES. As expected, EEQs in river water were higher downstream from the effluent discharge compared to the paired sample taken upstream.…”

Section: Study I: Variability Of Estrogenic Activity In Many Independentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Estrogens in Swiss Rivers and Effluents – Sampling Matters

Eggen¹,

Escher²,

Suter³

2008

Chimia

Self Cite

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Estrogenic activity of treated sewage effluents and receiving waters surfaced as an issue of general concern some 15 years ago. Since then, a large number of studies investigated the distribution and nature of the estrogenic substances in various aquatic ecosystems. Within NRP50, a five-year Swiss research programme on endocrine disruptors, four field studies were performed to characterize the presence of environmental estrogens in rivers and effluents. The estrogenic activity was quantified with a biological assay − the yeast estrogen screen. An overview of the sampling approaches and results of the various studies is presented here. In a first study, using grab sampling, it appeared that estrogenic activity in river water was highly variable. Average estrogenicity values did not correlate with sewage treatment works and/or river characteristics, e.g. effluent dilution factor. However, variability was not 'random' but clearly associated with river size, and possibly its discharge. A second study specifically addressed this issue of variability of estrogenicity. The study was conducted at a single effluent source and its receiving river. Variability of estrogenicity in the grab samples was again large but again not 'random'; some of the variability was explained by the time over which the effluent resided in the treatment process. In a third study it was explored if passive sampling would be a better way to assess average estrogenicity. Indeed, passive samplers identified sources of estrogens, and passive sampling data correlated well with both repeated grab sampling and bioaccumulation data. Subsequently, passive samplers were deployed across Switzerland in a fourth study. It involved 22 effluent discharges and the associated rivers. Data analysis of the last study is still ongoing, preliminary observations are discussed here. Although a lot could be learned from repeated grab sampling campaigns, it emerged that passive sampling is a very effective and appropriate technique to assess: i) effluent treatment efficiency, and ii) the chemical load of river water. For these reasons it is a valuable monitoring tool for water quality criteria assessments as well as for studies that aim to link exposure and effect. The passive samplers that are currently available not only target estrogenic substances, but many other polar organic compounds of concern, such as antibiotics (see NRP49), other pharmaceuticals and biocides.

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Comparative analysis of estrogenic activity in sewage treatment plant effluents involving three in vitro assays and chemical analysis of steroids

Cited by 159 publications

References 61 publications

Review of risk from potential emerging contaminants in UK groundwater

Review of risk from potential emerging contaminants in UK groundwater

Endocrine disruptors in bottled mineral water: total estrogenic burden and migration from plastic bottles

Estrogens in Swiss Rivers and Effluents – Sampling Matters

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