Reduction of estrogenic activity of municipal wastewater by aerated lagoon treatment facilities

Abstract

The estrogenic activity of municipal wastewater in aerated lagoon treatment facilities was evaluated using plasma concentrations of vitellogenin (Vtg) in male fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas). Caged fathead minnows were exposed for 10 to 12 d in three lagoons that are connected in series at each of 10 municipal wastewater treatment facilities in central Iowa, USA, during October and November 2000. Fathead minnows held in the laboratory served as unexposed controls. Pooled (n = 4-10 fish) plasma Vtg, quantified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), was 1,702 +/- 670 (mean +/- standard error [SE]) microg/ml in the first lagoons (n = 9), 0.94 +/- 0.36 microg/ml in the second lagoons (n = 10), and 0.04 +/- 0.02 microg/ml in the third lagoons (n = 8). Differences in mean fish plasma Vtg concentration among lagoons were highly significant (p < 0.001). The mean concentration of plasma Vtg in fish in the third lagoons was not significantly different (p = 0.990) from that of the control fish (0.04 +/- 0.02 microg/ml). Plasma Vtg concentrations of fish in the first lagoons were inversely correlated with wastewater retention time in the lagoons (p = 0.002, r = -0.877). Water temperatures of the final effluents during the study ranged from 9 to 12 degrees C. General treatment efficiency of lagoons has been shown to be dependent on temperature, so the potential exists for decreased removal of estrogenic activity when water temperatures are lower (e.g., winter months) than the present study. In conclusion, wastewater entering aerated lagoon systems was estrogenic to fish, but with serial passage through the lagoons, the estrogenic activity decreased to a level that was not sufficient to induce vitellogenesis in male fathead minnows in a 10- to 12-d exposure.

Effects of atrazine on fathead minnow in a short‐term reproduction assay

“…Plasma samples were thawed on ice for 2 h, and the plasma VTG level was quantified with a commercially available (Bio‐sense, Bergen, Norway) enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay following the protocol provided by the manufacturer, as previously described by Bringolf and Summerfelt [13]. Intraassay coefficient of variation was 8.5% ( n = 6), and interassay coefficient of variation was 15.1% ( n = 4).…”

“…During the mid-1990s, researchers in Europe and the United States reported reproductive abnormalities, such as altered sex hormone ratios, reduced gonad size, and induction of vitellogenin (VTG) in fish exposed to environmental estrogens (EEs) [3][4][5][6]. Since then, studies worldwide have used induction of VTG, the egg yolk protein precursor, in caged and wild fish to identify surface waters containing EEs [7][8][9][10][11][12][13]. Although the induction of biomarkers in EE-exposed fish is well documented, only recently have studies examined the relationship of biomarkers with impairment of reproduction and development [14][15][16][17][18].…”

Biochemical and histopathological effects in pearl dace (Margariscus margarita) chronically exposed to a synthetic estrogen in a whole lake experiment

“…Contaminants that mimic the female reproductive hormone estrogen were first identified in receiving waters in the United Kingdom [1,2] but have since also been identified in aquatic environments in several other European and North and South American countries [3 and references therein]. Modern sewage treatment facilities remove a large portion of the influent's estrogenic activity, reducing it by 70 to 100% from typical initial concentrations in the range of 50 to 150 ng/L [4]. Most of the removal is accomplished in secondary and tertiary treatment, with aerated lagoon treatment shown to be most effective [3,4].…”

“…Modern sewage treatment facilities remove a large portion of the influent's estrogenic activity, reducing it by 70 to 100% from typical initial concentrations in the range of 50 to 150 ng/L [4]. Most of the removal is accomplished in secondary and tertiary treatment, with aerated lagoon treatment shown to be most effective [3,4]. However, released wastewaters often still contain low ng/L concentrations of estrogens.…”

Sources of endocrine‐disrupting compounds in North Carolina waterways: A geographic information systems approach

“…Of particular concern are the relatively high detectable levels of estrogenic EDCs in surface waters found during our fall sampling, when surface runoff would likely be less than during other times of the year (e.g., after spring crop planting and fertilization and during summer low flows). Further, point sources are also expected to have slightly higher EDC concentrations in spring than fall, when our samples were taken, because microbes that degrade waste are less efficient in cool spring temperatures [40].…”