Detection and evaluation of endocrine‐disruption activity in water samples from Portuguese rivers

Abstract

Water samples (n = 183) from Portuguese rivers were tested for the presence of endocrine disruptors using the recombinant yeast assay (RYA) combined with chemical identification of compounds having endocrine-disruption properties by liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry. Ten selected locations were sampled monthly for a period of 20 months, from April 2001 to December 2002. More than 90% of samples showed either no detectable or low levels of estrogenicity (<0.1 ng/L of estradiol equivalents). The remaining samples (17 in total, 9.3%) showed estrogenicity values ranging from 0.1 to 1.7 ng/L of estradiol equivalents; only two samples showed values greater than 1 ng/L of estradiol equivalents. Most highly estrogenic samples (13 of 17 samples) originated in five sampling sites clustered in two zones near Porto and Lisbon. Chemical analysis detected alkylphenolic compounds (octyl- and nonylphenol plus nonylphenol ethoxylates) in all samples, albeit at concentrations less than 1 microg/L for each compound in 80% of samples. Total analyte concentration exceeded 10 microg/L in only 10 samples, with all but one of those originating from only two sampling sites. In these two locations, a good correlation was observed between the concentrations of octylphenol, nonylphenol, and to a lesser extent, bisphenol A in the samples and their estrogenicity values as calculated by RYA. We conclude that estrogenic activity can be explained by alkylphenol contamination in only these sites; for the remainder, we propose that pesticides and urban waste may be the main factors responsible for estrogenic contamination.

Determination of seventeen endocrine disruptor compounds and their spatial and seasonal distribution in Ria Formosa Lagoon (Portugal)

“…Also BPA, systematically measured at all sites (ca. 30 ng L −1 ), was demonstrated to be a ubiquitous compound of this lagoon, where their amounts were similar to those refereed in other surface waters, either in Portugal (Azevedo et al 2000;Quirós et al 2005), Spain , or The Netherlands (Vethaak et al 2002). These observations suggest a chronic action of this compound over the local fauna, which may also trigger serious endocrine dysfunctions in local fauna (Crain et al 2007).…”

Screening of multiple hormonal activities in surface water and sediment from the Pearl River system, South China, using effect‐directed in vitro bioassays

“…This is consistent with the general water quality classification of the three rivers. The estrogenic activities detected in surface water and sediment of the Shijing River were approximately one to two orders of magnitude higher than those reported in Korea [32], Portugal [33], the United Kingdom [34], and the United States [35], where the estrogenic activities ranged from below the limit of detection to 4.01 ng EEQ/L in surface water and from below the limit of detection to 12.1 ng EEQ/g in sediment. The estrogenic activities in the rivers of other regions clearly fall in the range for the Liuxi and Zhujiang rivers.…”

Emerging contaminants in surface waters and their relevance for the production of drinking water in Europe

“…They are excreted by humans and livestock and discharged in the environment with effluents of sewage treatment plants (Kolpin et al 2002;Legler et al 2002;Snyder et al 2003) or with agricultural run off (Lange et al 2002;Johnson et al 2006;Matthiessen et al 2006). Only at certain specific locations, estrogenic activities were partly or fully caused by high concentrations of alkylphenols (Sheahan et al 2002;Fenet et al 2003;Cespedes et al 2004;Quiros et al 2005).…”