Analysis of river and wastewater effluent for the presence of estrogenic compounds

CHED 1094

Ashley Lauren Black, ablack4@elon.edu and Lisa M. Ponton, lponton@elon.edu. Department of Chemistry, Elon University, 100 Campus Dr, 2625 Campus Box, Elon, NC 27244
Estrogens and other endocrine disrupting compounds in the environment present a unique problem for environmental health by adversely affecting reproductive systems. As an unregulated class of compounds, an accurate assessment of whether estrogens are present in the environment is critical. Wastewater effluent and natural waterways from the Graham, NC area were analyzed for four estrogenic compounds: Estriol, 17-βEstradiol, 17-αEthynylestradiol, and Estrone, using C18 solid phase extraction and high-performance liquid chromatography. Detection at the ng/L level was achieved by the method. Wastewater effluent samples were collected from the City of Graham Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP). Natural waterway samples were collected upstream and downstream of the WWTP. Comparisons were made between the concentrations of estrogens in wastewater effluent and in the natural waterways to determine if effluent is a source of estrogen contamination in natural water. Both the method development and the results from the WWTP and surrounding waterways will be presented.