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Analysis and occurrence of alkylphenolic compounds and estrogens in a European river basin and an evaluation of their importance as priority pollutants

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Abstract

As a part of a project aiming to assess the potential toxicological effects of contaminants in aquatic ecosystems, the objective of this work was to determine the occurrence of several selected endocrine-disrupting compounds in water and sediment and to estimate the estrogenicity of the water. The study consisted of four sampling campaigns at seven sampling points in the lower Llobregat catchment area (NE Spain). Water and sediment samples underwent chemical target analysis for 19 steroid estrogens and alkylphenols, which are known to be endocrine-disrupting compounds. In this study, the only estrogens detected in the water samples were estrone and estrone-sulfate, which were found at low levels (2–5 ng l−1). The alkylphenolic compound showing the highest concentrations was nonylphenol di-ether carboxylate (NP2EC), which was found at levels up to 30.62 µg l−1 in water samples and 535 ng g−1 in sediment samples. K d was determined for several alkylphenolic compounds and showed the expected trend of decreasing K d with increasing polarity. The concentrations of nonylphenol and octylphenol only exceeded the annual average of the European Union’s environmental quality standards (EQS) in one sampling point. However, the calculated estrogenic potential surpassed the expected effect concentration in several sampling points, indicating a potential risk. Therefore, we recommend that future EQS include short-chain alkylphenol ethoxylates and carboxylates.

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Acknowledgments

This work has been supported by the EU Project: MODELKEY [GOCE 511237] and by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (CTM2005-24255-E, BIO2005-00840, CTM2006-26227-E/TECNO, and CGL2007-64551/HID). Cristina Postigo acknowledges the European Social Fund and AGAUR (Generalitat de Catalunya, Spain) for their economical support through the FI pre-doctoral grant. The paper reflects the authors’ views only. The EU is not liable for any use that may be made of the information contained in it.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental Chemistry, IDAEA-CSIC, C/Jordi Girona 18-26, 08034, Barcelona, Spain

    Rikke Brix, Cristina Postigo, Asuncion Navarro, Maria J. Lopez de Alda & Damià Barceló

  2. CETaqua, Water Technology Center, Campus Norte de la UPC, Passeig dels Til·lers 3, 08034, Barcelona, Spain

    Susana González

  3. Catalan Institute for Water Research (ICRA), Parc científic i Tecnològic de la Universitat de Girona, C/ Emili Grahit 101, Edifici H2O, 17003, Girona, Spain

    Marta Villagrasa & Damià Barceló

  4. BMG Engineering AG, Ifangstrasse 11, 8952, Schlieren, Switzerland

    Marina Kuster

Authors
  1. Rikke Brix
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  2. Cristina Postigo
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  3. Susana González
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  4. Marta Villagrasa
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  5. Asuncion Navarro
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  6. Marina Kuster
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  7. Maria J. Lopez de Alda
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  8. Damià Barceló
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Correspondence to Maria J. Lopez de Alda.

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Brix, R., Postigo, C., González, S. et al. Analysis and occurrence of alkylphenolic compounds and estrogens in a European river basin and an evaluation of their importance as priority pollutants. Anal Bioanal Chem 396, 1301–1309 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-009-3358-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-009-3358-8

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