PARENT SESSION

1D - Soil and Sediment Contamination
Poster Hall
8:30 AM - Tuesday, 29 April 2003
Chair: Van Noort, P.¹, ¹
Co-chair: Gerhardt, A.², Gerhardt, A.², ²

(TUP/30) Emission of Xenoestrogenic Compounds with Wastewater and Sewage Sludge.

Gehring, Martin¹, Tennhardt, Lars¹, Vogel, Dirk^*,1, Weltin, Diethelm¹, Bilitewski, Bernd¹, ¹ Dresden University of Technology, Pirna, Saxony, Germany

ABSTRACT- Multiple samplings of untreated municipal wastewater, sewage sludge, and wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents have been carried out in Germany in 2000/01. The samples have been analysed for several estrogenic endocrine disruptors, i.e. 4-tert-octylphenol (OP), 4-nonylphenol (NP), mestranol (ME), 17-ethinylestradiol (EE2), 17-estradiol (E2), estrone (E1), estriol (E3), and bisphenol A (BPA). In most cases, the concentrations of the natural and synthetic steroids E2, E1, E3, ME, and EE2 were below the limit of detection (not detectable, n.d.). The sludge dry matter of 3 WWTPs frequently showed detectable EE2 concentrations of up to 280 g/kg DW. The concentrations of OP, NP, and BPA in sludge dry matter amounted to up to 13.3 mg/kg DW, 560 mg/kg DW, and 32.1 mg/kg DW, respectively. Correspondingly, the mean concentration in raw wastewater amounted to 2.5 g/l, 3.9 g/l, and 2.6 g/l, and in treated effluent to 0.71 g/l, 1.8 g/l, and 0.46 g/l, respectively. Mass balances for the elimination of OP, NP, and BPA during municipal wastewater treating in Germany are presented. Whilst OP and BPA partly are degraded, NP is formed by at least 20 %. The emissions to surface waters were calculated to be at least 6.5 t OP/a, 8.3 t NP/a, and 4.4 t BPA/a. Through the agricultural application of sewage sludge, soil is contaminated with 0.8 t OP/a, 16.5 t NP/a, and 1 t BPA/a. The results presented are discussed with regard to the literature and to implications for human and ecological health. Conclusions are made for agricultural practice as well as for the use of certain chemicals.

Key words: endocrine disruptors, xenoestrogens, wastewater, sewage sludge