Bolz U, Hagenmaier H, Körner W
Institute of Organic Chemistry, University of Tübingen, Auf der Morgenstelle 18, D-72076 Tübingen, Germany.
Environ Pollut. 2001;115(2):291-301. doi: 10.1016/s0269-7491(01)00100-2.
Nine structurally different phenolic chemicals, which have been reported to mimic estrogen effects, were determined in various aquatic environmental compartments. Twenty-three water samples from five streams and rivers showed levels up to 458 ng/l for 4-nonylphenol (4NP), 189 ng/l for 4-t-octylphenol (4tOP), 272 ng/l for bisphenol A (BPA) and 47 ng/l for 2-hydroxybiphenyl (2OHBiP). Elevated levels of these compounds in a stream with a high load of effluents of sewage treatment plants (STPs), compared to a brook free of sewage, identified STPs as major sources. With a similar order, 4NP (10-259 micrograms/kg dry matter), 4tOP (< 0.5-8 micrograms/kg), BPA (< 0.5-15 micrograms/kg), and 2OHBiP (2-69 micrograms/kg) were also detected regularly in riverine sediment (n = 11). Levels in sewage sludge were one order of magnitude higher than in sediments. 4-Hydroxybiphenyl and 4-chloro-3-methylphenol were found predominantly in sludge and sediment in the lower ppb range.
