Impact of wastewater treatment plants on receiving surface waters and a tentative risk evaluation: the case of estrogens and beta blockers.

Impact of wastewater treatment plants on receiving surface waters and a tentative risk evaluation: the case of estrogens and beta blockers. Environ Sci Pollut Res Int. 2013 Aug 24; Authors: Gabet-Giraud V, Miège C, Jacquet R, Coquery M Abstract Five estrogenic hormones (unconjugated + conjugated fractions) and 10 beta blockers were analyzed in three wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents and receiving river waters in the area of Lyon, France. In the different samples, only two estrogens were quantified: estrone and estriol. Some beta blockers, such as atenolol, acebutolol, and sotalol, were almost always quantified, but others, e.g., betaxolol, nadolol, and oxprenolol were rarely quantified. Concentrations measured in river waters were in the nanogram per liter range for estrogens and between 0.3 and 210 ng/L for beta blockers depending on the substance and the distance from the WWTP outfall. The impact of the WWTP on the receiving rivers was studied and showed a clear increase in concentrations near the WWTP outfall. For estrogens, the persistence in surface waters was not evaluated given the low concentrations levels (around 1 ng/L). For beta blockers, concentrations measured downstream of the WWTP outfall were up to 16 times higher than those measured upstream. Also, the persistence of metoprolol, nadolol, and propranolol was noted even 2 km downstream of the WWTP outfall. The comparison of beta blocker fingerprints in the samp...
Source: Environmental Science and Pollution Research International - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Tags: Environ Sci Pollut Res Int Source Type: research