Estimating estrogen release and load from humans and livestock in shanghai, china

Occurrence and removal of conventional pollutants, estrogenicities, and fecal coliform in village sewage treatment plants along the Yangtze River, China

The present study investigated the occurrence and removal efficiency of some conventional pollutants, estrogenic effects, and fecal coliform in influents and/or effluents of village sewage treatment plants (STPs) in the upper, middle, and lower reaches of the Yangtze River Basin. The water quality of sewage from the village STPs showed significant seasonal and spatial variability. The removal rates of conventional pollutants by the village STPs were mostly lower than urban STPs, thereby resulting in that the water quality compliance rate of the effluents was only 33.3%. In addition, the average removal rate of estrogenic compounds was only 22.2%, which caused the estrogenicity of effluent to exceed the safety threshold. And E2 was determined to be the main estrogenic component. Moreover, ultraviolet (UV) disinfection, as the main disinfection treatment process of sewage along the Yangtze River Basin, was unable to meet the discharge standard of fecal coliform. The sequential chlorine (10 mg L^-1)-UV (20 mJ cm^-2) disinfection was found to both achieve up-to-standard discharge of fecal coliform and increase the removal rate of estrogenic effect from 3.78 to 9.86%. Overall, the present study provides valuable information on the conventional pollutants, estrogenic effects, and fecal coliform in sewage from village STPs along the Yangtze River Basin, and practical suggestions for basin-wide pollution control.

Investigation of free and conjugated estrogen fate and emission coefficients in three duck farms

Concentration animal feeding operation (CAFO) is an important source of environmental estrogen. However, to the best of our knowledge, the data on estrogen discharge during duck breeding and growth is insufficient. This study used liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) to analyze the free and conjugated estrogen concentrations in the surface water, outlet water, groundwater, and duck manure/soil mixture at three duck farms in Taiwan. Natural estrogen species included estrone (E1), 17β-estradiol (E2), estriol (E3), estrone-3-sulfate (E1-3S), 17β-estradiol-3-sulfate (E2-3S), estrone-3-glucuronide (E1-3G), and 17β-estradiol-3-glucuronide (E2-3G), whereas synthetic estrogen included 17α-ethynylestradiol (EE2) and diethylstilbestrol (DES). This study showed that the total estrogen concentrations in the surface water and groundwater were 15.4 and 4.5 ng/L, respectively, which constituted 56% and 58%, respectively, conjugated estrogen. From the pond to the outlet water, the total estrogen concentration decreased by 3.9 ng/L (23% loss) in the duck farms. However, the estrogenic potency was slightly reduced from 0.91 to 0.88 E2 equivalent/L, showing a negligible decrease. From the pond to the outlet water, the field results showed that converting the conjugated estrogen into free estrogen in the duck farm-released water increased their environmental hazard. Primarily E1, with an average concentration of 0.9 ± 1.6 ng/g, was present in the duck manure. The estrogen excreted by the ducks in the pond (from surface water to outlet water) was estimated to be 0.18 kg/million head-year. Although the estrogen concentration in the duck farms was low, the environmental impact of CAFO should not be neglected.

A high-precision prediction for spatiotemporal distribution and risk assessment of antibiotics in an urban watershed using a hydrodynamic model

A methodology for the high-precision prediction and risk assessment of antibiotics at the watershed scale was established. Antibiotic emission inventory and attenuation processes were integrated into the MIKE 11 model to predict the spatiotemporal distribution of norfloxacin, ofloxacin, enrofloxacin, erythromycin, roxithromycin, and sulfamethoxazole in the Nanfei River watershed, China. Considering the variations in antibiotic removal in sewage treatment plants, manure composting, and lagoon systems, the high, medium, and low removal efficiencies of selected antibiotics across China were obtained and used as the best, expected, and worst scenarios, respectively, to evaluate the uncertainty of antibiotic emissions. The predicted concentrations were comparable to antibiotic measurements after flow calibration. The prediction results showed that the highest concentration exposures were mainly concentrated in urban areas with a dense population. Flow variations controlled the temporal distribution characteristics of antibiotics via the dilution effect, and the concentrations of antibiotics in the dry season were 3.1 times higher than those in the wet season. The median concentrations of norfloxacin and erythromycin ranged from 111.36 ng/L to 592.33 ng/L and 106.63 ng/L to 563.01 ng/L, respectively, which both posed a high risk to cyanobacteria and a medium risk to spreading antibiotic resistance. Scenario analysis further demonstrated that high removal efficiencies of these antibiotics can considerably reduce the potential ecotoxicity risks and bacterial resistance selection. The developed methodology for predicting the distribution and risk of antibiotics was suitable for the risk assessment and control strategy of human- and livestock-sourced pollutants.

Environmental fate and toxicity of androgens: A critical review

Androgens are released by humans and livestock into the environment and which cause potent endocrine disruptions even at nanogram per liter levels. In this article, we reviewed updated research results on the structure, source, distribution characteristics and the fate of androgens in ecological systems; and emphasized the potential risk of androgens in aquatic organism. Androgens have moderately solubility in water (23.6-58.4 mg/L) and moderately hydrophobic (log Kow 2.75-4.40). The concentration of androgens in surface waters were mostly in ng/L ranges. The removal efficiencies of main wastewater treatment processes were about 70-100%, except oxidation ditch and stabilization ponds. Sludge adsorption and microbial degradation play important role in the androgens remove. The conjugated androgens were transformed into free androgens in environmental matrices. Global efforts to provide more toxicity data and establish standard monitoring methods need a revisit. Of the day available, there is an urgent need for comprehensive consideration of the impact of androgens on the environment and ecology.

Validation of a QuEChERS method for extraction of estrogens from a complex water matrix and quantitation via high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry

The traditional approach to extracting estrogens from water matrices, solid-phase extraction (SPE), presents a number of challenges when applied to complex wastewater matrices. Conversely, the QuEChERS (Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged and Safe) clean-up method offers an alternative sample preparation approach that omits sample filtration and overcomes additional challenges associated with SPE. The objective of this study was to implement and validate a scaled QuEChERS method, using a standard addition approach, for extracting estrone (E1), 17β-estradiol (E2), and estriol (E3) from the estrogenic influent of a recirculating aquaculture system containing American eels (Anguilla rostrata). While traditional QuEChERS protocols do not facilitate considerable sample concentration, a 500-fold concentration factor was implemented for reliable quantitation of parts-per-trillion concentrations of estrogens from an initial sample volume of 20 mL to a final extract volume of 40 μL. Following analysis via high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, excellent process efficiencies were observed at spiked concentrations of 10 and 50 ng L^-1 for E2 and E1 (101 to 111%; %RSD ≤ 16), and moderate to acceptable process efficiencies were achieved for E3 (75 to 87%; %RSD ≤ 16). Validation of method parameters, including specificity, linearity, accuracy (recovery and process efficiencies), precision (intra-day precision, and inter-day precision), matrix effects, method detection limit, and limit of quantitation, led to reliable quantitation of unknown concentrations of E1, E2, and E3 in the aquaculture influent as low as 52, 20, and 33 ng L^-1, respectively. This study provides a validated analytical method for waste systems requiring quantitation of estrogens in their complex wastewater matrices.

Microbial degradation of steroid sex hormones: implications for environmental and ecological studies

Steroid hormones modulate development, reproduction and communication in eukaryotes. The widespread occurrence and persistence of steroid hormones have attracted public attention due to their endocrine-disrupting effects on both wildlife and human beings. Bacteria are responsible for mineralizing steroids from the biosphere. Aerobic degradation of steroid hormones relies on O2 as a co-substrate of oxygenases to activate and to cleave the recalcitrant steroidal core ring. To date, two oxygen-dependent degradation pathways - the 9,10-seco pathway for androgens and the 4,5-seco pathways for oestrogens - have been characterized. Under anaerobic conditions, denitrifying bacteria adopt the 2,3-seco pathway to degrade different steroid structures. Recent meta-omics revealed that microorganisms able to degrade steroids are highly diverse and ubiquitous in different ecosystems. This review also summarizes culture-independent approaches using the characteristic metabolites and catabolic genes to monitor steroid biodegradation in various ecosystems.

Endocrine Disruptors in Water and Their Effects on the Reproductive System

Anthropogenic contaminants in water can impose risks to reproductive health. Most of these compounds are known to be endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs). EDCs can impact the endocrine system and subsequently impair the development and fertility of non-human animals and humans. The source of chemical contamination in water is diverse, originating from byproducts formed during water disinfection processes, release from industry and livestock activity, or therapeutic drugs released into sewage. This review discusses the occurrence of EDCs in water such as disinfection byproducts, fluorinated compounds, bisphenol A, phthalates, pesticides, and estrogens, and it outlines their adverse reproductive effects in non-human animals and humans.

Application of BiOX Photocatalysts in Remediation of Persistent Organic Pollutants

Bismuth oxyhalides have recently gained attention for their promise as photocatalysts. Due to their layered structure, these materials present fascinating and highly desirable physicochemical properties including visible light photocatalytic capability and improved charge separation. While bismuth oxyhalides have been rigorously evaluated for the photocatalytic degradation of dyes and many synthesis strategies have been employed to enhance this property, relatively little work has been done to test them against pharmaceuticals and pesticides. These persistent organic pollutants are identified as emerging concerns by the EPA and effective strategies must be developed to combat them. Here, we review recent work directed at characterizing the nature of the interactions between bismuth oxyhalides and persistent organic pollutants using techniques including LC-MS/MS for the determination of photocatalytic degradation intermediates and radical scavenging to determine active species during photocatalytic degradation. The reported investigations indicate that the high activity of bismuth oxyhalides for the breakdown of persistent organic pollutants from water can be largely attributed to the strong oxidizing power of electron holes in the valence band. Unlike conventional catalysts like TiO2, these catalysts can also function in ambient solar conditions. This suggests a much wider potential use for these materials as green catalysts for industrial photocatalytic transformation, particularly in flow chemistry applications.

Estimating the eco-toxicological risk of estrogens in China's rivers using a high-resolution contaminant fate model

The contamination of freshwater systems arises in many river basins due to industrialization and population growth, posing risks to ecosystems and human health. Despite these concerns, the fate and potential impact of many emerging pollutants are currently unknown, especially when the compounds are released into surface waters from populations distributed across large spatial scales. In order to address this shortcoming, a spatially-explicit contaminant fate model was developed as an extension of the global, vector-based river routing model HydroROUT. HydroROUT operates at very high spatial resolution (∼500 m), simulates river and stream chemical transport with in-stream removal, and contains links to a set of lakes and reservoirs, which act as a partial sink during the transport. The chemical fate model was applied to China and includes a consumption and release module based on county-level population demographics, considers point-source contributions from 2547 wastewater treatment plants, and accumulates contributions of rural and urban populations not connected to sewage treatment plants. As a case study, the sources and fates of the estrogens estrone (E₁), 17β-estradiol (E₂), estriol (E₃), as well as the synthetic estrogenic steroid hormone 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE₂) were modelled in Chinese surface water bodies. Preliminary validation of the results showed predictions to be within the ranges of concentrations reported in literature, with exception of EE₂. The total estrogenic mass in the entire river and lake system amounted to 370 tonnes of estrogens, with about 1.3 tonnes per year discharged to the ocean, neighboring countries or to inland sinks. Under a selected baseline scenario, eco-toxicological risk-i.e., contaminant concentrations in excess of the predicted no effect concentration (PNEC)-is found in 23.6% of all analyzed rivers of China with an average flow > 0.1 m³/s. Out of these, about 4% of rivers showed a high level of risk of 10 times or more above PNEC. Medium-to-large rivers are disproportionally affected; for example, 23.6%, 37.3%, 29.0% and 21.6% of river length are at risk in rivers of 1-10, 10-100, 100-1,000, and 1,000-10,000 m³/s of discharge, respectively, whereas no risk was predicted in the largest rivers (i.e., >10,000 m³/s) of China. Wastewater treatment plants process 22.5% of the total hormone load and thus play an important role in water quality control by reducing the risk in substantial portions of the river network, which would otherwise show elevated risk. Releases from untreated population dominate by far the overall contribution to risk.

Removal of estrone, 17β-estradiol, and estriol from sewage and cow dung by immobilized Novosphingobium sp. ARI-1

Immobilized bacterial agents (IBA) can increase the cell density and improve the environmental adaptability of bacteria. An estrogen-degrading bacterium, Novosphingobium sp. ARI-1, was immobilized in calcium alginate (CA) using an embedding method and applied to the removal of estrogens from natural sewage and cow dung. The optimum immobilization conditions were as follows: sodium alginate (SA) and CaCl₂·2H₂O concentrations of 5% (m/v) and 4% (m/v), respectively; a bacterial suspension to SA ratio of 1:2; and cross-linking for 6 h at 4°C. Immobilized strain ARI-1 mediated the biodegradation of estrone (E1), 17β-estradiol (E2), and estriol (E3) either individually or in combination and was tolerant of various temperatures and pH values. Immobilized ARI-1 removed 80.43%, 94.76%, and 100% of E1, E2, and E3 from sewage containing 1.75, 0.71, and 1.52 μg L^-1 of the three test estrogens within seven days, respectively. In cow dung containing initial E1, E2, and E3 concentrations of 0.71, 0.64, and 0.66 mg kg^-1, respectively, E1 and E2 concentrations were below the limit of detection, and 1.09% of E3 remained after incubation with immobilized ARI-1 for seven days. These results confirmed the utility of immobilized strain ARI-1 for the removal of estrogens from environmental matrices.

Effects of 17β-estradiol and 17α-ethinylestradiol on the embryonic development of the clearhead icefish (Protosalanx hyalocranius)

Estrogenic effects of 17β-estradiol (E2) and 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2) on animals have been widely reported. The high sensitivity of fish in the early-life stages to xenobiotics can be exploited to evaluate the developmental effects of environmentally relevant levels of E2 and EE2. In this work, clearhead icefish (Protosalanx hyalocranius) embryos (blastula stage) were exposed to E2 or EE2 at concentrations between 0.05 ng/L and 1 mg/L. The toxicity endpoints of mortality, teratogenesis, and hatching retardation were evaluated. The results showed that continuous exposure of the fish embryos/larvae to higher concentrations of E2 and EE2 dramatically increased mortality after 17 days, when the hatching period started. An E2 concentration of 8 μg/L (day 16) and an EE2 concentration of at 0.2 mg/L (day 18) induced maximum teratogenesis rates of 30% and 35%, respectively. Embryos exposed to 0.2 mg E2 or EE2/L had a significantly retarded hatching time compared to the control. Thus, although environmentally relevant concentrations E2 and EE2 are not lethal for P. hyalocranius embryos or larvae, their ability to induce teratogenesis and hatching retardation merits concern.

Isolation, Characterization, and Degradation Performance of the 17β-Estradiol-Degrading Bacterium Novosphingobium sp. E2S

A 17β-estradiol (E2)-degrading bacterium E2S was isolated from the activated sludge in a sewage treatment plant (STP). The morphology, biological characteristics, and 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene sequence of strain E2S indicated that it belonged to the genus Novosphingobium. The optimal degrading conditions were 30 °C and pH 7.0. The ideal inoculum volume was 5% (v/v), and a 20-mL degradation system was sufficient to support the removal ability of strain E2S. The addition of extra NaCl to the system did not benefit the E2 degradation in batch culture by this strain. Strain E2S exhibited high degradation efficiency with initial substrate concentrations of 10-50 mg·L-1. For example, in mineral salt medium containing 50 mg·L-1 of E2, the degradation efficiency was 63.29% after seven days. In cow manure samples supplemented with 50 mg·L-1 of E2, strain E2S exhibited 66.40% degradation efficiency after seven days. The finding of the E2-degrading strain E2S provided a promising method for removing E2 from livestock manure in order to reduce the potential environmental risks of E2.

In vitro toxicity assessment of sediment samples from Huangpu River and Suzhou River, Shanghai, China

Sediments are the ultimate sink for many toxic organic contaminants released into aquatic environment. The present study evaluated the toxicity effect of 13 surface sediment samples from Huangpu River and Suzhou River, East China using two-hybrid yeast bioassays for estrogenic and thyroidal effects and H4IIE rat hepatoma cell bioassay for ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase (EROD) activity. Toxicity was expressed as 17β-estradiol equivalent (E2-EQ), 3,3',5-triiodothyronine equivalent (T3-EQ), and 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) equivalent (TEQ). At the same time, the causality between the observed EROD activity and concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was examined. The results showed that the total estrogenic effects in sediments ranged from 0.06 to 1.21 μg E2-EQ kg(-1) dry weight (dw), the thyroidal effects ranged from 4.68 to 69.9 μg T3-EQ kg(-1) dw, and significantly positive correlations were found between lgT3-EQs and lgE2-EQs. The AhR agonist effects varied from 26.5 to 148.3 ng TEQ kg(-1) dw. Chemical analysis-derived TEQs contributed by PAHs ranged from 13.8 to 66.0 ng kg(-1) dw accounting for 27.2-109.9 % with mean of 48.9 % of TEQbio, indicating that PAHs made important contributions to the EROD effects of sediment extracts from the two rivers. The present study would provide meaningful information for further analysis and risk evaluation for organic pollutants in Huangpu River and Suzhou River.

Risk of endocrine disruption to fish in the Yellow River catchment in China assessed using a spatially explicit model

The global water availability assessment (GWAVA) model, incorporating regional water abstractions and reservoir information, was used to model the human-sourced steroid estrogens estrone (E1) and estradiol (E2) in the Yellow River catchment (China). The river flows in the main stem were calibrated using gauged flows. Following a review of Chinese data on estrogen discharge from a range of sewage treatment plants, low, median, and high discharge rates were identified and used as best, expected, and worst-case scenarios, respectively. For any given location, the temporal variation of modeled estrogen levels was summarized using the mean and upper 90th percentile, which is where the model predicts 90% of values would be below this concentration. The predicted means and 90th percentiles for E1 were comparable to previous E1 measurements reported in the river. For the whole catchment, only 19% (mean value) of the river system by length was predicted to exceed 1 ng/L E2 equivalents (EEQs) using expected estrogen sewage discharge. Only 3% of the network by length was predicted to exceed the dangerously high 10 ng/L EEQ when considering 90th percentile concentrations. The highest exposures were in the Fen and Wei tributaries. Endocrine disruption risk from estrogens was predicted to be minimal in the main stem. Only in the worst-case discharge scenario and 90th percentile predicted concentrations were the most downstream river reaches of the main stem predicted to be at risk. Reservoirs appeared to be helpful in reducing estrogen concentrations thanks to longer water residence facilitating biodegradation.