title: Comparison of in vitro estrogenic activity and estrogen concentrations in source and treated waters from 25 U.S. drinking water treatment plants.
abstract: In vitro bioassays have been successfully used to screen for estrogenic activity in wastewater and surface water, however, few have been applied to treated drinking water. Here, extracts of source and treated water samples were assayed for estrogenic activity using T47D-KBluc cells and analyzed by liquid chromatography-Fourier transform mass spectrometry (LC-FTMS) for natural and synthetic estrogens (including estrone, 17β-estradiol, estriol, and ethinyl estradiol). None of the estrogens were detected above the LC-FTMS quantification limits in treated samples and only 5 source waters had quantifiable concentrations of estrone, whereas 3 treated samples and 16 source samples displayed in vitro estrogenicity. Estrone accounted for the majority of estrogenic activity in respective samples, however the remaining samples that displayed estrogenic activity had no quantitative detections of known estrogenic compounds by chemical analyses. Source water estrogenicity (max, 0.47ng 17β-estradiol equivalents (E2Eq) L-1) was below levels that have been linked to adverse effects in fish and other aquatic organisms. Treated water estrogenicity (max, 0.078ngE2EqL-1) was considerably below levels that are expected to be biologically relevant to human consumers. Overall, the advantage of using in vitro techniques in addition to analytical chemical determinations was displayed by the sensitivity of the T47D-KBluc bioassay, coupled with the ability to measure cumulative effects of mixtures, specifically when unknown chemicals may be present.
authors.affiliation: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Toxicity Assessment Division, Research Triangle Park, NC, United States; Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education, Oak Ridge, TN, United States.
authors.forename: Justin M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Conley
authors.affiliation: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Toxicity Assessment Division, Research Triangle Park, NC, United States.
authors.forename: Nicola
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Evans
authors.affiliation: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Water Supply and Water Resources Division, Cincinnati, OH, United States.
authors.forename: Heath
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Mash
authors.affiliation: CB&I Federal Services, Cincinnati, OH, United States.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rosenblum
authors.affiliation: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Water Supply and Water Resources Division, Cincinnati, OH, United States.
authors.forename: Kathleen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Schenck
authors.affiliation: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Microbial and Chemical Exposure Assessment Research Division, Cincinnati, OH, United States.
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Glassmeyer
authors.affiliation: U.S. Geological Survey, National Water Quality Laboratory, Denver, CO, United States.
authors.forename: Ed T
authors.initials: ET
authors.lastname: Furlong
authors.affiliation: U.S. Geological Survey, Iowa Water Science Center, Iowa City, IA, United States.
authors.forename: Dana W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Kolpin
authors.affiliation: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Toxicity Assessment Division, Research Triangle Park, NC, United States. Electronic address: wilson.vickie@epa.gov.
authors.forename: Vickie S
authors.initials: VS
authors.lastname: Wilson
mesh_terms: D060766:Drinking Water / Q000737:chemistry*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D004967:Estrogens / Q000032:analysis*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis*; D014877:Water Pollution, Chemical / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D018508:Water Purification
chemical_list: D060766:Drinking Water; D004967:Estrogens; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: Drinking water; Effect-based monitoring; Estrogen; In vitro bioassay; T47D-KBluc; Water quality