CHED 1121

In this study, the objective is to identify estrogens in sewage effluents. Estrogens are a group of steroid compounds that function as the primary female sex hormone. Estrogens are used as oral contraceptives and estrogen replacement therapy in postmenopausal women. Sewage effluents may contain many different estrogens, including estrogens that are endocrine disrupting compounds (ECDs). ECDs are both natural and man-made and they can interfere with the endocrine glands and their hormones that alter the functioning of the endocrine system. It is important to identify theses estrogens to have a better understanding of the effects of theses estrogens in the environment. The procedure includes a solid-phase extraction (SPE) of approximately 500 milliliters of water samples. The SPE absorbent used for sample preparation was an octadecyl (C18)-bonded silica sorbent. High Performance Liquid Chromatography with ultraviolet detector (HPLC - UV) was used to characterize the estrogens in the sewage effluents. HPLC - UV was used for its specific detection and potential identification of estrogens in the presence of other chemicals. The preliminary analysis showed the presence of three compounds at levels between .0206 mgL-1 (estradiol) to .2257(ethinyl estradiol) mgL-1. The EPA does not regulate the levels of estrogens that are released into the water but even at low concentration levels the estrogens have been observed harmful on the reproduction, growth, and development of certain species of wildlife [4, 5].