School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Hebei University of Science and Technology, Shijiazhuang 050018, PR China; Department of Environmental Science & Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, PR China.
Department of Environmental Science & Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, PR China.
Environ Int. 2018 Sep;118:1-8. doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2018.05.026. Epub 2018 May 18.
Steroid hormones (SHs) are continuously released into the aquatic environment through various pathways after being excreted by humans and animals, interfere with the normal function of the endocrine system and may affect the physiology and reproduction of exposed aquatic life. To conduct a nationwide investigation of the occurrence and biological effects of SHs in surface river/steam water in China, we quantitated 27 selected SHs in 217 surface water samples by solid-phase extraction (SPE) tandem LC-MS/MS and used a recombinant yeast estrogen assay to screen extracts of the water samples for estrogenic activities. SHs were commonly found in the surface water samples, and their levels were typically in the ng L range. Estrone (E1) and estriol (E3) were normally present in several to dozens of times higher concentrations than estradiol (E2) and 17-a-Ethinylestradiol (EE2). The high concentrations (mean > 1 μg L) of Sum were primarily obtained in areas under extreme water stress, specifically the eastern coastal areas. Source apportionment based on the profiles of the target compounds indicated that 54.5% of the SHs in target samples came from freshly discharged untreated sewage. The estrogen equivalent (EEQ) values ranged from 0.01 to 40.27 ng L, and the calculated EEQ (EEQ) values were generally lower than the corresponding EEQ values for all samples. E2 was the main contributor to the estrogenicity among the three estrogens, with a contribution ratio of 82.8%. The risk quotient values of E2 were highest and ranged from 1.55 to 782.95, and 76.0% of the target surface samples displayed the greatest environmental risk. We concluded that the impacts of SHs on humans in Chinese surface waters should not be ignored and that certain actions should be taken to decrease the levels of SHs in source waters, especially measures targeting SHs in untreated wastewater from the vast rural areas.
甾体激素（SHs）在被人类和动物排泄后，通过各种途径持续释放到水环境中，干扰内分泌系统的正常功能，并可能影响暴露于水中的生命的生理和繁殖。为了对中国地表河/湖水环境中 SHs 的发生和生物效应进行全国性调查，我们通过固相萃取（SPE）串联 LC-MS/MS 定量分析了 217 个地表水样中的 27 种选定 SHs，并使用重组酵母雌激素测定法筛选水样提取物的雌激素活性。SHs 普遍存在于地表水样中，其水平通常处于 ng/L 范围内。雌酮（E1）和雌三醇（E3）的浓度通常比雌二醇（E2）和 17-α-乙炔雌二醇（EE2）高几个数量级到几十倍。Sum 的高浓度（平均值>1μg/L）主要出现在极度缺水地区，特别是东部沿海地区。基于目标化合物的分布进行的来源分配表明，目标样品中 54.5%的 SHs 来自刚排放的未经处理的污水。雌激素当量（EEQ）值范围为 0.01 至 40.27ng/L，计算出的 EEQ（EEQ）值通常低于所有样品的相应 EEQ 值。在这三种雌激素中，E2 是雌激素活性的主要贡献者，贡献比例为 82.8%。E2 的风险商值最高，范围为 1.55 至 782.95，76.0%的目标地表样品显示出最大的环境风险。我们得出结论，中国地表水中 SHs 对人类的影响不容忽视，应采取措施降低水源中 SHs 的水平，特别是针对广大农村地区未经处理的废水中的 SHs。
