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Occurrence of free estrogens, conjugated estrogens, and bisphenol A in fresh livestock excreta and their removal by composting in North China

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Abstract

An efficient pretreatment and analytical method was developed to investigate the occurrence and fate of four free estrogens (estrone (E1), 17β-estradiol (17β-E2), estriol (E3), and 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2)), four conjugated estrogens (estrone-3-sulfate sodium salt (E1-3S), 17β-estradiol-3-sulfate sodium salt (E2-3S), estrone-3-glucuronide sodium salt (E1-3G), and 17β-estradiol-3-glucuronide sodium salt (E2-3G)), and bisphenol A (BPA) in three livestock farms raising beef cattle, cows, sheep, swine, and chickens in Qi County, which is located in North China. The results demonstrated that one cow and one beef cattle excreted 956.25–1,270.41 and 244.38–319.99 μg/day of total (free and conjugated) estrogen, respectively, primarily through feces (greater than 91 %), while swine excreted 260.09–289.99 μg/day of estrogens, primarily through urine (98–99 %). The total estrogen excreted in sheep and broiler chicken feces was calculated to be 21.64–28.67 and 4.62–5.40 μg/day, respectively. It was determined that conjugated estrogens contributed to 21.1–21.9 % of the total estrogen excreted in cow feces and more than 98 % of the total estrogen excreted in swine urine. After composting, the concentration of total estrogen decreased by 18.7–59.6 %; however, increased levels of BPA were measured. In treated compost samples, estrogens were detected at concentrations up to 74.0 ng/g, which indicates a potential risk of estrogens entering the surrounding environment.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program, 2010CB429003), Special Fund of State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control (No. 13L01ESPC), and Youth Science and Technology Fund for Shanxi Basic Research Project (2013011040-7). The manuscript has been edited by Elsevier Webshop Support for the English language.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Water Environment Simulation, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, 100875, Beijing, China

    Hui Zhang, Jianghong Shi, Xiaowei Liu & Ting Bo

  2. Civil Engineering, College of Engineering and Informatics, National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland

    Xinmin Zhan

  3. Shanxi Academy of Environmental Sciences, 030000, Taiyuan, China

    Jinhua Dang

Authors
  1. Hui Zhang
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  2. Jianghong Shi
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  3. Xiaowei Liu
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  4. Xinmin Zhan
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  5. Jinhua Dang
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  6. Ting Bo
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Correspondence to Jianghong Shi.

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Responsible editor: Ester Heath

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Zhang, H., Shi, J., Liu, X. et al. Occurrence of free estrogens, conjugated estrogens, and bisphenol A in fresh livestock excreta and their removal by composting in North China. Environ Sci Pollut Res 21, 9939–9947 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-014-3002-9

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