M3 PM Wastewater Treatment: Analysis, Fate and Removal of Emerging Contaminants
Monday, 14 November 2005: 1:50 PM - 5:30 PM in Ballroom 3

(HOL-1117-824177) Screening and removal of endocrine disrupting compounds in wastewater: a forensic investigative approach.

Hollis, L¹, Birkholz, D², Goudey, J¹, ¹ HydroQual Laboratories Ltd., Calgary, Alberta, Canada² Enviro-Test Laboratories, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

ABSTRACT- Endocrine disrupting compounds (EDC's) in the environment are a growing concern because their effects on aquatic organisms and humans are unclear or ill-determined. An effects-based fractionation procedure was employed to identify the general chemical group(s) eliciting estrogenic and androgenic effects in complex environmental samples. With further chemical analysis, specific causitive compounds can be isolated and identified. The estrogenic and androgenic potency are quantified with in vitro bioassays using modified (i.e., estrogen- or androgen-receptor transformed) yeast cells, Saccharomyces cervisiae. The in vitro test results are validated with in vivo fish bioassays on manipulated fractions to determine the bioavailability (or bioactivity) of the isolated compounds. These tests are short-term exposures (14 day) of breeding fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas) to whole fractions (mixtures) and isolated compounds. Endpoints include fish survival, growth, plasma vitelllogenin induction, gonadosomatic index, and reproductive performance (i.e., number of facial tubercles in males). The most appropriate management strategy for EDC control, reduction, or removal can be selected once the source and nature of the compounds have been identified and confirmed. The effectiveness of this approach will be illustrated with a case study on municipal waterwater treatment plant effluent.

Key words: endocrine disrupting compounds, estrogenic, androgenic, bioassays