Distribution Of Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals Research Articles

Occurrence and distribution of endocrine-disrupting chemicals in mariculture fish and the human health implications

The presence and distribution of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in the mariculture fish from Pulau Kukup, Johor of Malaysia have been studied along with the impact on human health. Six different species of mariculture fish were collected, due to their high consumption in the Asian region—especially Malaysia, to assess their levels of EDCs. The highest concentration of EDCs detected in the muscle was dexamethasone (2.37–15.84 ng/g) and (0.77–13.41 ng/g), in the liver was dexamethasone (<2.54–43.56 ng/g) and progesterone (2.23–9.78 ng/g), and in the reproductive organ are dexamethasone (<2.54–37.23 ng/g) and caffeine (0.21–18.92 ng/g). The human health risk assessment in the current study suggested that there is no potential risk to the consumer because the hazard index was below 1 (HI < 1). The present study provides information on the pollution profile of EDCs and the associated human health risk with EDCs in mariculture fish.

Seasonal variation and the distribution of endocrine-disrupting chemicals in various matrices affected by algae in the eutrophic water environment of the pearl river delta, China

The seasonal variation and distribution among different matrices of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) were investigated in the eutrophic water ecosystem of the Pearl River Delta, Guangdong, China. The chlorophyll a (Chl a) levels were generally higher in summer than in spring; however, the concentrations of 4-tert-octylphenol (OP), 4-nonylphenol (NP), and bisphenol A (BPA) in surface water were generally higher in spring (oligotrophic) than in summer (eutrophic). The levels of EDCs in SPM were lower in spring than in summer, a pattern seen in the seasonal variation of Chl a and particulate organic carbon (POC). The seasonal variations of EDCs in water bodies with different levels of eutrophication were analyzed in several dimensions including sediment, POC, algae and fish bile. The log Koc for SPM/water was higher in summer than in spring. The log Koc values for NP, OP, and BPA exhibited the following trends between matrices: colloid/water > sediment/water > SPM/water > algae/water, colloid/water > sediment/water > algae/water > SPM/water, and colloid/water > algae/water > sediment/water > SPM/water. The EDCs levels were different in fish tissues with the order bile > liver > muscle, with the concentrations being an order of magnitude higher in bile than in liver and an order of magnitude higher in liver than in muscle. The sequence of the bioconcentration factor (log BCF) for bile/water and liver/water was NP < OP < BPA in eutrophic conditions, but NP > OP > BPA in oligotrophic conditions. The order in eutrophic conditions was the same as the log BCF and log Koc for algae/water, indicating that the accumulation of EDCs in water bodies could be affected by algae, which could be one of the reasons of the seasonal variation of EDCs in water.

Spatiotemporal evolvement and factors influencing natural and synthetic EDCs and the microbial community at different groundwater depths in the Chaobai watershed: A long-term field study on a river receiving reclaimed water

In this long-term field study, to restore a dried river ecosystem, reclaimed water was used as a supplementary water source. The main aim of this study was to investigate the accumulation and migration potential of EDCs in groundwater during long-term utilization of reclaimed water and the changes in microbial community during the removal of EDCs. A long-term field study was conducted in order to ascertain the temporal and spatial distribution of four selected endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in an underground aquifer in the Chaobai watershed, where reclaimed water is the primary water source. Anew, the microbial community structure at different groundwater depths, along with related environmental factors were also determined. Based on the results obtained from this long-term study, it was found that the EDCs in the surface water of the Chaobai river have entered a depth of 80 m in the groundwater aquifers, within a distance of 360 m from the river. The vertical profiles of the concentrations of bisphenol A (BPA), 4-nonylphenol (NP), estrone (E1), and estriol (E3) decreased significantly from the surface to different groundwater depths with first-order attenuation rates of 0.0416, 0.0343, 0.0498, and 0.0173 m-1. The aquifer depth, water temperature, conductivity, and coexisting anions correlated well with the distribution of EDCs in groundwater.

The Effect of Dissolved Organic Matter (DOM) on the Release and Distribution of Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals (Edcs) from Sediment under Hydrodynamic Forces, A Case Study of Bisphenol A (BPA) and Nonylphenol (NP).

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) that exist in the aquatic system bring severe environmental risks. In this study, we investigate the dissolved organic matter (DOM) effect on the release and distribution of EDCs under varied hydrodynamic conditions. A water chamber mesocosm was designed to simulate the hydrodynamic forces in a shallow lake. The contents of bisphenol A (BPA) and nonylphenol (NP) in colloid-bound and soluble phases were measured under four increasing hydrodynamic intensities that were 5%, 20%, 50%, and 80% of the critical shear stress. The total BPA and NP contents in overlying water grew linearly with the hydrodynamic intensity (R2 = 0.997 and 0.987), from 108.28 to 415.92 ng/L of BPA and 87.73 to 255.52 ng/L of NP. The exponential relationships of EDC content and hydrodynamic intensity in soluble phase (R2 = 0.985 of BPA and 0.987 of NP) and colloid phase (R2 = 0.992 of BPA and 0.995 of NP) were also detected. The DOM concentrations in colloid-bound phase (cDOM) and in soluble phase (sDOM) were measured and the linear relationships with BPA content (R2 = 0.967 of cDOM and 0.989 of sDOM) and NP content (R2 = 0.978 of cDOM and 0.965 of sDOM) were detected. We analyzed the ratio (αDOM) of sDOM and cDOM that grew logarithmically with the hydrodynamic intensity (R2 = 0.999). Moreover, the ratio (αEDCs) of BPA and NP contents in soluble and colloid-bound phases varied differently with αDOM. The results suggested that BPA tended to be in the soluble phase and NP tended to be in the colloid-bound phase due to the increasing value of αDOM.

Distribution of endocrine-disrupting chemicals in colloidal and soluble phases in municipal secondary effluents and their removal by different advanced treatment processes

In this work, the partition of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in colloid-bound and truly dissolved phases in municipal wastewater before and after advanced treatment processes was determined. The effluents, which were filtered using a 0.45 μm membrane, were further separated with the 1 kDa cross-flow ultrafiltration system into two phases, namely, colloidal phase (0.45 μm-1 kDa) and soluble phase (<1 kDa), and the partition coefficients of typical EDCs to colloids (Kcoc) were calculated. The removal of typical EDCs and their estrogenic activity in secondary effluent by coagulation sedimentation (CS), granular activated carbon (GAC) adsorption, magnetic ion exchange resin (NDMP), and ozone processes was compared. Results show that the percentages of colloid-bound EDCs were noteworthy and ranged between 7.8% and 44.3% in secondary effluents. The reduction in EDCs resulting from the GAC adsorption process was positively correlated to their logKcoc, thus suggesting that the adsorption of EDCs onto granular activated carbon and colloids exhibited a similar phenomenal character. Ozone oxidation was most effective in removing both colloidal phase and soluble phase EDCs, whereas CS displayed a relatively adequate performance in reducing colloidal EDCs. EDCs with lower Kow values exhibited higher removal by ion exchange resin. The combination of modified NDMP and ozonation processes achieved the best performance in reducing estrogenic activity and satisfying the predicted no-effect concentration (PNEC).

Assessment of potential biological activities and distributions of endocrine-disrupting chemicals in sediments of the west coast of South Korea

The west coast of Korea has experienced environmental deterioration for more than half a century. In the present study, we specifically aimed to: i) evaluate potential toxicities of contaminants in sediments that cause effects mediated through the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) and estrogen receptor (ER); ii) determine spatio-temporal distributions of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and alkylphenols (APs); and iii) identify causes of greater potencies of samples. From 2010 to 2014, sediments were collected from 12 major estuarine and coastal regions along the west coast of South Korea. In vitro cell bioassays were performed to determine AhR- and ER-mediated potencies using H4IIE-luc and MVLN cells, respectively. Fifteen PAHs and six APs in sediments were identified by GC/MSD. Results of bioassays generally showed a low-to-moderate degree of contamination, however, greater AhR- and ER-mediated potencies were measured at some locations. Concentrations of PAHs and APs varied among locations, which indicated that sources were independently affected by the surrounding environment (e.g., industrial complex and cities). Results of bioassays were generally well correlated with concentrations of putative causative chemicals. Benzo[k]fluoranthene, dibenz[a,h]anthracene, and benzo[b]fluoranthene were the major AhR agonists, explaining approximately 30% of the bioassay-derived benzo[a]pyrene equivalent concentration (BaP-EQ). Unknown AhR and ER agonists and potential mixture effects remain in question. Overall, the present study provides baseline information on chemical contaminations and potential toxicity of sediments in a fairly wide geographical region of the west coast of South Korea.

Distribution and Removal of Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals in Industrial Wastewater Treatment

In the present work, the distribution of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in an industrial (denim-dyeing) wastewater and pollutant removal efficiencies of three processes from two treatment plants were studied. Result indicated that nonylphenol (NP) was the main pollutant in the wastewater with concentrations of 30–400 μg/L, followed by bisphenol A (BPA) with concentrations of 0.37–14.5 μg/L, while only a trace amount of triclosan (TCS) was detected. High pH values and high dye concentrations had no effect on treatment efficiencies of all processing units. Conventional activated sludge treatment process showed the highest removal efficiencies of 90% for NP, 92% for BPA, and 94% for TCS. Performance of oxidation ditch treatment process was inferior to conventional sludge system for reduction of NP. The acid sedimentation unit could remove nearly half of NP and TCS from the influent, while an increasing trend was observed in the same unit for the concentration of BPA, which might be caused by transformation of unidentified parent chemicals in the raw wastewater. The long hydraulic retention time of the sedimentation unit did not favor reduction of NP and might influence the removal efficiency of other two compounds. To reduce effluent endocrine effects to the aquatic organisms, efforts should be focused on NP and its parent compounds.

The distributions, removals and estrogenic effects of selected endocrine disrupting chemicals in two drinking water factories in China

The distributions and effects of 31 selected endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in two drinking water factories were analyzed in this study. The distributions of EDCs were analyzed by solid phase extraction (SPE) combined with liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). The concentrations of these EDCs were from lower than the LOD (limit of detection) to 23.13 ng L (- 1) in the samples; most of them were lower than 1 ng L (- 1). The highest concentration (23.13 ± 1.45 ng L (- 1)) was detected in the raw water. Twenty-six chemicals were found in the raw water and only five in the finished water of drinking water factory A, while 25 chemicals were detected in the raw water and two in the finished water of drinking water factory B. The results indicate that most of the EDCs can be removed by the water treatment process. In the advanced treatment process, the ozonation processes have the highest removal efficiency. Separate analyses in May and September show similar results. Apart from the chemical analysis, yeast strain transformed when the estrogen receptor α (ERα) gene was employed to test the estrogenic effects of the water samples. Due to the low concentrations of these EDCs, no significant estrogenic effects were found from the samples.

Influence of Rainfall and Basic Water Quality Parameters on the Distribution of Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals in Coastal Area

Occurrence and distribution of three typical endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs), nonylphenol mixture (NPs), bisphenol A (BPA), and 17α-ethynilestradiol (EE2), were investigated in the seawater, suspended solid, and sediment around the coastline of Shenzhen city. Field surveys were conducted in both dry season and rainy season to access the influence of rainfall and basic water quality parameters on the distribution of target EDCs. In the seawater, NPs, BPA, and EE2 ranged from 31 to 1,777 ng/l, from 11 to 777 ng/l, and from 10 to 269 ng/l, respectively. In the suspended solid, NPs, BPA, and EE2 were in the range from 3 to 289 ng/l, from 1 to 75 ng/l, and from 1 to 29 ng/l, respectively. In the sediment, NPs, BPA, and EE2 varied from 9 to 355 ng/g dry weight (dw), from 3 to 156 ng/g dw, and from 7 to 144 ng/g dw, respectively. With the increasing rainfall, the concentrations of target EDCs decreased in seawater and sediment and increased in suspended solid at all the sampling locations. Among the six measured basic water quality parameters, the volatile suspended solid value was positively related with the partition property of target EDCs between suspended solid and seawater. Based on the results of principal component analysis, dissolved organic carbon, total nitrogen, and total phosphorous had close relationships with the distribution of target EDCs in the seawater. Temperature and dissolved oxygen had little relationship with the distribution of target EDCs in the coastal area.