Estrogenic compounds have been shown to be present in surface waters, leading to concerns over their possible presence in finished drinking waters. In this work, two in vitro human cell line bioassays for estrogenicity were used to evaluate the removal of estrogens through conventional drinking water treatment using a natural water. Bench-scale studies utilizing chlorine, alum coagulation, ferric chloride coagulation, and powdered activated carbon (PAC) were conducted using Ohio River water spiked with three estrogens, 17β-estradiol, 17α-ethynylestradiol, and estriol. Treatment of the estrogens with chlorine, either alone or with coagulant, resulted in approximately 98% reductions in the concentrations of the parent estrogens, accompanied by formation of by-products. The MVLN reporter gene and MCF-7 cell proliferation assays were used to characterize the estrogenic activity of the water before and after treatment. The observed estrogenic activities of the chlorinated samples showed that estrogenicity of the water was reduced commensurate with removal of the parent estrogen. Therefore, the estrogen chlorination by-products did not contribute appreciably to the estrogenic activity of the water. Coagulation alone did not result in significant removals of the estrogens. However, addition of PAC, at a typical drinking water plant dose, resulted in removals ranging from approximately 20 to 80%.
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Research Article|
October 16 2011
Removal of estrogens and estrogenicity through drinking water treatment
Kathleen Schenck;
1US Environmental Protection Agency, 26 W. Martin Luther King Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45268, USA
E-mail: [email protected]
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Laura Rosenblum;
Laura Rosenblum
2Shaw Environmental and Infrastructure, Inc., Cincinnati, OH 45212, USA
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Thomas E. Wiese;
Thomas E. Wiese
3Xavier University of Louisiana, New Orleans, LA 70125, USA
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Larry Wymer;
Larry Wymer
1US Environmental Protection Agency, 26 W. Martin Luther King Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45268, USA
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Nicholas Dugan;
Nicholas Dugan
1US Environmental Protection Agency, 26 W. Martin Luther King Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45268, USA
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Daniel Williams;
Daniel Williams
1US Environmental Protection Agency, 26 W. Martin Luther King Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45268, USA
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Heath Mash;
Heath Mash
1US Environmental Protection Agency, 26 W. Martin Luther King Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45268, USA
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Betty Merriman;
Betty Merriman
4National Council On Aging, Cincinnati, OH 45268, USA
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Thomas Speth
Thomas Speth
1US Environmental Protection Agency, 26 W. Martin Luther King Drive, Cincinnati, OH 45268, USA
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J Water Health (2012) 10 (1): 43–55.
Article history
Received:
March 02 2011
Accepted:
September 23 2011
Citation
Kathleen Schenck, Laura Rosenblum, Thomas E. Wiese, Larry Wymer, Nicholas Dugan, Daniel Williams, Heath Mash, Betty Merriman, Thomas Speth; Removal of estrogens and estrogenicity through drinking water treatment. J Water Health 1 March 2012; 10 (1): 43–55. doi: https://doi.org/10.2166/wh.2011.135
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