Spatial and seasonal distribution of 17 endocrine disruptor compounds in an urban estuary (Mondego River, Portugal): evaluation of the estrogenic load of the area

Abstract

The Mondego River estuary demonstrates signs of pollution, but the levels of endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs), such as the natural (17β-estradiol and estrone) and pharmaceutical (17α-ethynylestradiol) estrogens, xenoestrogenic industrial pollutants (4-octylphenol, 4-nonylphenol, and their mono- and diethoxylates and bisphenol A), phytoestrogens (formononetin, biochanin A, daidzein, and genistein), and sitosterol were either poorly or never measured in this area. Thus, to conclude about the influx of EDCs in this estuary, water samples were taken every 2 months, during 1 year (2010) in low tide, at eight sites distributed along the estuary. Water samples (1 L) were preconcentrated in the Oasis HLB cartridges and cleaned in silica cartridges before their analysis by GC-MS. In summer, potentially hazardous amounts of estrogens (≈ 26 ng L(-1)), alkylphenols (≈ 11.5 μg L(-1)), alkylphenolethoxylates (≈ 13 μg L(-1)), and phytoestrogens (≈ 5.6 μg L(-1)) were measured. These data suggest that changes in the hydrodynamics of the estuary coupled with the increase of water temperatures interfere with the amount of EDCs in the water. Complementary physicochemical parameters also point to high levels of anthropogenic pollution in this area. Globally, the estrogenic load, expressed in ethynylestradiol equivalents, attained 71.8 ng L(-1) demonstrating that, all together, the measured EDCs pose important health risks for both biota and humans.

Intersex in fishes and amphibians: population implications, prevalence, mechanisms and molecular biomarkers

“…For example, many studies attempting to examine these relationships relate EDC concentrations in water samples collected at the same time that fish were sampled for examinations of intersex. However, it is well known that concentrations of EDCs can rapidly change through time (Rocha et al ., ). Therefore, studying the relationship between EDC concentrations when fish are undergoing gonadal development or identifying long‐term fluctuations (week or months) that occur before sampling would be more meaningful than assessing chemical concentrations at the time of sample collection.…”

Contributions of Abiotic and Biotic Processes to the Aerobic Removal of Phenolic Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals in a Simulated Estuarine Aquatic Environment

“…Estuarine ecosystems near mega-cities receive the direct input of different classes of pollutants from domestic and industrial waste and exhibit the characteristics of high organic matter (OMs) and suspended particles, abundant microorganisms, fluctuations in dissolved oxygen content and the wide occurrence of EDC pollution. ,− The removal of EDCs in this aquatic system is very complicated due to the existence of various biotic and abiotic processes/factors in the estuarine water and sediment. The published studies on EDC removal in estuarine environments have focused only on a single process, such as sorption of steroid estrogens to solid phases from the Blackwater estuary and photochemical degradation of EE 2 in the Acushnet River Estuary .…”

Occurrence of selected endocrine disrupting compounds in the eastern cape province of South Africa

“…In the aquatic environments, the presence of some EDCs (alkylphenols, phytoestrogens and oestrogens) in conjunction with hydrodynamic factors such as temperature has been reported to promote eutrophication in freshwater (Rocha et al 2014). Jia et al (2019) studied cyanobloom in freshwater and detected 29 EDCs promoting eutrophication.…”