Abstract
The environmental fate and persistence of steroidal estrogens is influenced by their photodegradation. This can potentially occur both in the presence of the ultraviolet (UV) portion of solar radiation and in tertiary wastewater treatment plants that use UV radiation for disinfection purposes. To determine patterns of UV photodegradation for estrone (E1) and 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2), water samples containing these compounds were exposed to levels of UVB radiation that would simulate exposure to ambient sunlight. E1 degraded with a pseudo-first-order rate law constant that was directly proportional to UVB radiation intensity (R 2 = 0.999, P < 0.001) and inversely proportional to dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration (R 2 = 0.812, P = 0.037). DOC acted as a competitive inhibitor to direct photolysis of E1 by UV. In contrast to E1, EE2 was more persistent under similar UVB treatment. A reporter gene assay showed that the estrogenicity of UVB-exposed estrogens did not decrease relative to non-UVB-exposed estrogens, suggesting that some of the photoproducts may also have estrogenic potency. These results show that environmental degradation rates of steroidal estrogens are predictable from the UV intensity reaching surface waters, and the DOC concentrations in these surface waters.
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Acknowledgements
This research was supported by a Strategic Projects grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (Canada) to VLT, JMB, and DRSL. Thanks are given for help with sampling to Gary Robidoux from the wastewater treatment plant in Ottawa, Fida Ahmed, Ashley Macarenhas, and Serena Maharaj from the University of Ottawa, and Adrienne Fowlie and Jeff Ridal from the St. Lawrence River Institute of Environmental Sciences. The assistance of Emmanuel Yumvihoze with the DOC analysis is also greatly appreciated. The donation of the ERE-TK-luc construct from Dr. Farzad Pakdel (Rennes) is acknowledged with gratitude.
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Atkinson, S.K., Marlatt, V.L., Kimpe, L.E. et al. Environmental Factors Affecting Ultraviolet Photodegradation Rates and Estrogenicity of Estrone and Ethinylestradiol in Natural Waters. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 60, 1–7 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-010-9515-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-010-9515-4