Analysis of (Anti-)Oestrogenic and (Anti-)Androgenic Activities in Wastewater from the Lodz Sewer System

Abstract

This article presents the results of a study on the oestrogenicity and androgenicity of urban wastewater in Lodz, and the possibility of their removal by the Group Wastewater Treatment Plant (GWWTP). Wastewater samples were taken at five points of the sewer system in the city and at the inlet and outlet of the GWWTP. The study was conducted using Yeast Oestrogen Screen (YES)/Yeast Androgen Screen (YAS) tests, which allow a general assessment of the content of compounds with (anti-)oestrogenic and (anti-)androgenic effects in wastewater, without identifying specific substances. Wastewater samples taken from the sewage network did not show (anti-)oestrogenic activity, while oestrogenic and antagonistic properties to androgens were detected in most of them. In the influent of the treatment plant, oestrogen agonistic activity was detected only in one sample (oestrogen equivalent—EEQ equal to 1.31 × 105 ng 17 β–oestradiol/L) and was 100% removed. The purification efficiencies in GWWTP for oestrogen and androgen antagonistic activity were 51.5–99.2% and 39.4–47.1%, respectively. Although no oestrogenic activity was detected in general wastewater in Lodz, observed high-antagonistic–androgenic activities may adversely affect the water body and cause, among others, the feminization of fish, especially in the case of discharge of untreated wastewater by combined sewer overflows.