Zearalenone occurrence in surface waters in central Illinois, USA

Zearalenone (ZEN) is an estrogenic secondary metabolite produced by certain fungi that commonly infest important cereal crops. The ability of ZEN to move from contaminated crops to surface waters has been demonstrated previously. This article reports the development and application of a method for the measurement of ZEN in surface waters from the central part of Illinois, USA. The method uses a cleanup procedure based on tandem reverse-phase disks and immunoaffinity columns, separation by liquid chromatography and detection by a combination of absorbance and fluorescence. ZEN was frequently found in samples of waters from lakes, streams and a field ditch. Although the frequency of detection was high (32% above the limit of detection, 0.4 ng L⁻¹), the levels found were low, with the highest sample having 5.7 ng L⁻¹. Therefore, although fungi can contribute to the exposure to environmental estrogens, the contribution from zearalenone in water is likely small.