Fluorescent characteristics of estrogenic compounds in landfill leachate.
Estrogens in landfill leachate could probably contaminate receiving water sources if not properly polished before discharge. This work measured, using an estrogen receptor-alpha competitor screening assay, the estrogenic potentials of leachate samples collected at a local sanitary landfill in Shanghai, China and their compounds fractionated by molecular weights. The chemical structures of the constituent compounds were characterized using fluorescence excitation and emission matrix (EEM). The organic matters of molecular weight <600 Da and of 3000-14,000 Da contributed most of the estrogenic potentials of the raw leachates. The former were considered as the typical endocrine disrupting compounds in dissolved state; while the latter the fulvic acids with high aromaticity that were readily adsorbed with estrogens (bound state). Statistical analysis on EEM peaks revealed that the chemical structures of noted estrogens in dissolved state and in bound state were not identical. Aerobic treatment effectively removed dissolved estrogens, but rarely removed those bound estrogens.
State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, Tongji University, Shanghai, China.
Hua
H
Zhanga
Cheng-Hsuan
CH
Changb
Fan
F
Lü
Ay
A
Su
Duu-Jong
DJ
Lee
Pin-Jing
PJ
He
Li-Ming
LM
Shao
D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D004967:Estrogens / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry*; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry*; D013050:Spectrometry, Fluorescence / Q000379:methods*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry*
D004967:Estrogens; D012989:Soil Pollutants; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical