title: The occurrence and ecological risks of endocrine disrupting chemicals in sewage effluents from three different sewage treatment plants, and in natural seawater from a marine reserve of Hong Kong.
abstract: We determined the concentrations of 12 endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in sewage effluents collected from three different sewage treatment plants (STPs) in Hong Kong, and found 4-nonylphenol (NP) and bisphenol A (BPA) were the most abundant EDCs. Effluent concentrations of NP and BPA were higher in dry season than in wet season, but opposite seasonal changes of NP were observed in receiving waters, probably due to the surface runoff. The two secondary STPs showed higher removal efficiency for these compounds than the preliminary STP, while having higher removal efficiency in wet season. Therefore, it is necessary to upgrade the preliminary STP and improve the EDC removal efficiency in dry season. Seawaters from the Cape D' Aguilar Marine Reserve adjacent to these STPs also exhibited elevated NP levels with a hazard quotient >1. Furthermore, diluted effluents from the STPs elicited significant transcriptional responses of EDC-related genes in the marine medaka fish.
authors.affiliation: The Swire Institute of Marine Science and School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Elvis G B
authors.initials: EG
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry, CAS Centre for Pearl River Delta Environmental Pollution and Control Research, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Shan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry, CAS Centre for Pearl River Delta Environmental Pollution and Control Research, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou, China.
authors.forename: Guang-Guo
authors.initials: GG
authors.lastname: Ying
authors.affiliation: Department of Chemistry, Hong Kong Baptist University, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Gene J S
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Zheng
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Clear Water Bay, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Joseph H W
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: The Swire Institute of Marine Science and School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam, Hong Kong, China. Electronic address: kmyleung@hku.hk.
authors.forename: Kenneth M Y
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Leung
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001559:Benzhydryl Compounds / Q000032:analysis*; D052244:Endocrine Disruptors / Q000032:analysis*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D006723:Hong Kong; D009990:Oryzias / Q000502:physiology; D010636:Phenols / Q000032:analysis*; D012306:Risk; D012621:Seasons; D012623:Seawater / Q000737:chemistry*; D012722:Sewage / Q000737:chemistry*; D018505:Waste Management; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*; D000098826:Bisphenol A Compounds
chemical_list: D001559:Benzhydryl Compounds; D052244:Endocrine Disruptors; D010636:Phenols; D012722:Sewage; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; C041594:4-nonylphenol; C006780:bisphenol A; D000098826:Bisphenol A Compounds
keywords: Ecotoxicology; Endocrine disrupting chemicals; Environmental risk assessment; Marine protected areas; Marine reserve; Sewage treatment plant