Occurrence of Endocrine-Disrupting Phenols and Estrogens in Water and Sediment of the Songhua River, Northeastern China

Abstract

Concentrations of six phenolic endocrine-disrupting chemicals [4-tert-octylphenol (OP), 4-t-nonylphenol (4-t-NP), 4-n-nonylphenol (4-n-NP), nonylphenol mono- to di-ethoxylates (NP1EO, NP2EO), and bisphenol A (BPA)] and five estrogens [estrone (E1), β-estradiol (E2), estriol (E3) 17α-ethynylestradiol (EE2), and diethylstilbestrol (DES)] were determined in surface water and sediment samples collected from the Songhua River in northeast China. Concentrations of sum of five alkylphenols and alkylphenol ethoxylates (ΣOP, 4-n-NP, 4-t-NP, NP1EO, NP2EO) were 117-1,030ngL(-1) (mean 296) in water samples and 25.5-386ngg(-1) (mean 67.3ngg(-1) dry weight (dw)) in sediments. Concentrations of BPA in water and sediments were 8.24-263ngL(-1) (mean 52.0) and 1.60-17.3ngg(-1)dw (mean 4.90dw), respectively. Concentrations in water were 0.840-20.8ngL(-1) (mean 5.03) for the sum of three natural steroidal estrogens (ΣE1, E2, E3) and below detection limit (BDL) at -1.38ngL(-1) (average 0.200) for the sum of two synthetic estrogens (EE2, ΣDES). Among estrogens, only E1 was detected in all of the sediment samples in the range of 0.100-3.00ngg(-1)dw. Concentrations of Σphenolic EDCs and Σestrogens in water and sediments and their correlations with total organic carbon indicated that these contaminants originate from similar sources, such as municipal wastewater. In situ [Formula: see text] values and sediment-water fugacity fraction were calculated for the target chemicals, and the results indicated that these chemicals were, in general, supersaturated in sediments relative to those in water.