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Quantification of bisphenol A, 353-nonylphenol and their chlorinated derivatives in drinking water treatment plants

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Abstract

Bisphenol A (BPA) and nonylphenols (NP) are of major concern to public health due to their high potential for human exposure and to their demonstrated toxicity (endocrine disruptor effect). A limited number of studies have shown that BPA and NP are present in drinking water. The chlorinated derivatives that may be formed during the chlorination step in drinking water treatment plants (DWTP) exhibit a higher level of estrogenic activity than their parent compounds. The aim of this study was to investigate BPA, 353NP, and their chlorinated derivative concentrations using an accurate and reproducible method of quantification. This method was applied to both surface and treated water samples from eight French DWTPs producing from surface water. Solid-phase extraction followed by liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry was developed in order to quantify target compounds from water samples. The limits of detection ranged from 0.3 to 2.3 ng/L for BPA and chlorinated BPA and from 1.4 to 63.0 ng/L for 353NP and chlorinated 353NP. BPA and 353NP were found in most analyzed water samples, at a level ranging from 2.0 to 29.7 ng/L and from 0 to 124.9 ng/L, respectively. In most of DWTPs a decrease of BPA and 353NP was observed between surface water and treated water (36.6 to 78.9 % and 2.2 to 100.0 % for BPA and 353NP, respectively). Neither chlorinated BPA nor chlorinated 353NP was detected. Even though BPA and 353NP have been largely removed in the DWTPs studied, they have not been completely eliminated, and drinking water may consequently remain a source of human exposure.

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Acknowledgments

Thanks to Pascale Pierre-Eugène for her help as technical assistant. Thanks to Ianesco laboratory (Poitiers, France) for their LC-MS/MS analysis contribution. Thanks as well to Afsset (EST-2007-70/LEGUBE) for their financial support. And thanks to all the DWTP operators and state organs managing delivery of drinking water in the Poitou-Charentes region for their kind assistance as we carried out this study. We would also like to thank Jeffrey Arsham for a very helpful discussion.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CNRS-UMR 7285 IC2MP, School of Medicine and Pharmacy (Department of Analytical chemistry, Pharmaceutics and Epidemiology), University of Poitiers, 6 rue de la Milétrie, 86034, Poitiers Cedex, France

    Antoine Dupuis, Virginie Migeot, Axelle Cariot, Marion Albouy-Llaty & Sylvie Rabouan

  2. Biology‐Pharmacy‐Public Health Pole, University hospital of Poitiers, Cedex, France

    Antoine Dupuis, Virginie Migeot, Axelle Cariot & Marion Albouy-Llaty

  3. CNRS‐UMR 7285 IC2MP, Ecole Nationale Supérieure d’Ingénieurs, University of Poitiers, 1 rue marcel Doré, 86022, Poitiers Cedex, France

    Antoine Dupuis, Virginie Migeot, Axelle Cariot, Marion Albouy-Llaty & Bernard Legube

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  1. Antoine Dupuis
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  2. Virginie Migeot
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  3. Axelle Cariot
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  4. Marion Albouy-Llaty
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  5. Bernard Legube
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  6. Sylvie Rabouan
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Correspondence to Antoine Dupuis.

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Responsible editor: Leif Kronberg

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Dupuis, A., Migeot, V., Cariot, A. et al. Quantification of bisphenol A, 353-nonylphenol and their chlorinated derivatives in drinking water treatment plants. Environ Sci Pollut Res 19, 4193–4205 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-012-0972-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-012-0972-3

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