The occurrence of steroidal estrogens in south-eastern Ontario wastewater treatment plants

We measured steroidal estrogens in wastewater in Ottawa and Cornwall (Ontario, Canada) to determine removal efficiency of these steroids during the treatment process, and whether removal varies during a seasonal cycle. Estrone (E1), 17β-estradiol (E2) and 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2) were found at maximum concentrations in raw sewage (RS), at 104, 66.9 and 5.7 ng L− 1, respectively. For the Ottawa wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), there was sufficient data to show that E1 concentrations in RS correlated with both ambient air temperature and mean daily flow of the WWTP (R2 = 0.792, p = 0.003 and R2 = 0.757, p = 0.005). E1 removal was correlated with the percent difference in cBOD from RS to FE (final effluent) (R2 = 0.435, p = 0.075). However estrogenic potency, as determined by a sensitive in vitro reporter gene assay, did not decrease during the water treatment process, suggesting that many estrogenic chemicals are conserved in FE. E1 and EE2 were found in river water, both upstream and downstream of the WWTPs, and at much lower concentrations than in FE. Our study demonstrates the persistence of steroidal estrogens and estrogenic potency in Ontario WWTP effluents and surface waters, and has uncovered temporal patterns of release that may be used to help predict risks to aquatic organisms in these environments.

► Estrone concentrations in wastewater are directly correlated with temperature.
► Estrone removal in wastewater is inversely related to removal of biological oxygen demand, showing degradation is microbial.
► No loss in estrogenic potency (as measured by bioreporters) is observed through the wastewater treatment process.
► Wastewater effluent is not the only contributor of estrogens to the aquatic environment.
► Regulation of effluents is needed, and surveillance studies in receiving waters should be undertaken.