Endocrine-disrupting chemicals in the Pearl River Delta and coastal environment: sources, transfer, and implications

A study was conducted to investigate the occurrence and behavior of six endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in sewage, river water, and seawater from the Pearl River Delta (PRD). The six EDCs under study were 4-nonylphenol (NP), bisphenol A (BPA), 17α-ethynylestradiol (EE2), estrone (E2), 17β-estradiol (E2), and estriol (E3). These EDCs, predominated by BPA, were found in high levels in the influents and the effluents of sewage treatment plants in the area. The relatively high concentrations (0.23-625 ng/L) of the EDCs detected in the receiving river water suggested that the untreated sewage discharge was a major contributor. The EDCs detected in eight outlets of the Pear River and the Pear River Estuary were in the ranges of 1.2-234 and 0.2-178 ng/L, respectively. The estrogen equivalents in the aquatic environments under study ranged from 0.08 to 4.5 ng/L, with E1 and EE2 being the two predominant contributors. As the fluxes of the EDCs from the PRD region to the nearby ocean are over 500 tons each year, the results of this study point to the potential that Pearl River is a significant source of the EDCs to the local environment there.