159 research outputs found

    Hormoonontregelaars in water opsporen met biologische effectmetingen

    Get PDF
    Uitleg over de pricipes van verschillende in-vitro testen gebruikt voor het bepalen van de oestrogene potentie van monsters oppervlaktewater en afvalwater, en enige resultaten voor verschillende locaties in Nederlan

    Flow induced pulsation caused by corrugated tubes

    Get PDF
    ABSTRACT Corrugated tubes can produce a tonal noise when used for gas transport, for instance in the case of flexible risers. The whistling sound is generated by shear layer instability due to the boundary layer separation at each corrugation. This whistling is examined by investigating the frequency, amplitude and onset of the pulsations generated by 2" artificially corrugated tubes and cable feeds. Special attention is given to the influence of the geometry of the corrugations and to the influence of the boundary conditions of the tubes. Two distinct modes are measured. One high mode with a typical Strouhal number Sr=0.35 and one with a Strouhal number of Sr=

    Determination of steroid estrogens in wastewater by high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

    Get PDF
    This paper discusses the requirement for, and presents an analytical procedure for, the determination of four unconjugated steroid hormones and a conjugated steroid (estrone-3-sulfate) in wastewaters. The method quantifies the steroids by LC/MS/MS following solid phase extraction and a two stage clean-up procedure. Samples were extracted using C18 cartridges and eluates were then purified by gel permeation chromatography, followed by a further clean-up step on an aminopropyl cartridge. The limits of detection achieved were 0.2 ng l-1 for estriol, 17β-estradiol and 17α-ethinylestradiol, and 0.1 ng l-1 for estrone and the conjugate. The robustness of the method was demonstrated by achieving recoveries of >83% for all steroids in settled sewage and final effluent samples with relative standard deviations of 0.5 - 12%. The method was used to analyse a range of samples from a wastewater treatment works in south east England which demonstrated a >80% removal for estrone, estradiol and estriol with little impact on concentrations of ethinylestradiol or the conjugate

    Influence of operating parameters on the biodegradation of steroid estrogens and nonylphenolic compounds during biological wastewater treatment processes

    Get PDF
    This document is the unedited author's version of a Submitted Work that was subsequently accepted for publication in Environmental Science & Technology, copyright © American Chemical Society after peer review. To access the final edited and published work see http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es901612v.This study investigated operational factors influencing the removal of steroid estrogens and nonylphenolic compounds in two sewage treatment works, one a nitrifying/denitrifying activated sludge plant and the other a nitrifying/denitrifying activated sludge plant with phosphorus removal. Removal efficiencies of >90% for steroid estrogens and for longer chain nonylphenol ethoxylates (NP4−12EO) were observed at both works, which had equal sludge ages of 13 days. However, the biological activity in terms of milligrams of estrogen removed per day per tonne of biomass was found to be 50−60% more efficient in the nitrifying/denitrifying activated sludge works compared to the works which additionally incorporated phosphorus removal. A temperature reduction of 6 °C had no impact on the removal of free estrogens, but removal of the conjugated estrone-3-sulfate was reduced by 20%. The apparent biomass sorption (LogKp) values were greater in the nitrifying/denitrifying works than those in the nitrifying/denitrifying works with phosphorus removal for both steroid estrogens and nonylphenolic compounds possibly indicating a different cell surface structure and therefore microbial population. The difference in biological activity (mg tonne−1 d−1) identified in this study, of up to seven times, suggests that there is the potential for enhancing the removal of estrogens and nonylphenols if more detailed knowledge of the factors responsible for these differences can be identified and maximized, thus potentially improving the quality of receiving waters.Public Utilities Board (Singapore), Anglian Water Ltd, Severn Trent Water Ltd, Thames Water Utilities Ltd, United Utilities 393 Plc and Yorkshire Water Services

    Simultaneous determination of natural and synthetic steroid estrogens and their conjugates in aqueous matrices by liquid chromatography / mass spectrometry

    Get PDF
    An analytical method for the simultaneous determination of nine free and conjugated steroid estrogens was developed with application to environmental aqueous matrices. Solid phase extraction (SPE) was employed for isolation and concentration, with detection by liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS) using electrospray ionisation (ESI) in the negative mode. Method recoveries for various aqueous matrices (wastewater, lake and drinking water) were determined, recoveries proving to be sample dependent. When spiked at 50 ng/l concentrations in sewage influent, recoveries ranged from 62-89 % with relative standard deviations (RSD) < 8.1 %. In comparison, drinking water spiked at the same concentrations had recoveries between 82-100 % with an RSD < 5%. Ion suppression is a known phenomenon when using ESI; hence its impact on method recovery was elucidated for raw sewage. Both ion suppression from matrix interferences and the extraction procedure has bearing on the overall method recovery. Analysis of municipal raw sewage identified several of the analytes of interest at ng/l concentrations, estriol (E3) being the most abundant. Only one conjugate, estrone 3-sulphate (E1-3S) was observe

    Поличний сушильний апарат для термолабільних зернових матеріалів

    Get PDF
    A study was performed to optimize sample preparation and application of three in vitro assays for measuring estrogenic potency in environmental extracts. The three assays applied were an estrogen receptor (ER)-binding assay and two reporter gene effect assays: a yeast estrogen screen (YES) and the ER-mediated chemically activated luciferase gene expression (ER-CALUX) assay. All assays were able to detect estrogenicity, but the amounts of material needed for the assays differed greatly between the three assays (ER-binding assay ≫ YES > ER-CALUX). In addition, in the ER-binding assay, both agonists and antagonists give an estrogenic response, resulting in higher estradiol equivalency (EEQ) levels than both the ER-CALUX and the YES assay for the same samples. The EEQs found in wastewater treatment plants (WTPs) with the ER-CALUX assay were in the range of 4 to 440 and 0.11 to 59 pmol/L for influent and effluent, respectively. Water extracts from four large rivers had levels ranging from 0.25 to 1.72 pmol/L. Extracts from suspended matter and sludge contained estrogenic potency of 0.26 to 2.49 and 1.6 to 41 pmol EEQ/g dry weight, respectively. In WTPs, the average reduction of estrogenic potency in effluent compared to influent was 90 to 95% in municipal WTPs and about 50% in industrial WTPs. In influent, 30% of the ER-CALUX activity could not be explained by the calculated potencies based on chemical analysis of a number of known (xeno)estrogens; in effluent the unexplained fraction was 80%. These first results of analyzing estrogenic potency in WTP water and surface water in The Netherlands indicate that further studies are warranted to investigate the actual risks for aquatic systems

    Does Uptake of Pharmaceuticals Vary Across Earthworm Species?

    Get PDF
    This study compared the uptake and depuration of four commonly used pharmaceuticals (carbamazepine, diclofenac, fluoxetine and orlistat) in two earthworm species (Lumbricus terrestris and Eisenia fetida). L. terrestris are a larger species and often found in deep burrows whereas E. fetida prefer to reside near the soil surface. Species burrowing habits and sizes may alter uptake by earthworms. All four pharmaceuticals were taken up into both L. terrestris and E. fetida tissue after 21 days exposure to spiked soil. Bioconcentration factors (BCFs) ranged between 1.72 and 29.83 for L. terrestris and 1.14 and 63.03 for E. fetida. For carbamazepine and diclofenac, BCFs were similar whereas for fluoxetine and orlistat, BCFs in E. fetida were more than double those seen in L. terrestris. Results indicate that uptake into earthworms cannot be generalised between species and that the influence of species traits can vary depending on the nature of the study chemical

    Positive experiences of volunteers working in deployable laboratories in West Africa during the Ebola outbreak

    Get PDF
    The largest outbreak of Ebola virus disease ever started in West Africa in December 2013; it created a pressing need to expand the workforce dealing with it. The aim of this study was to gain insight into the experiences of volunteers from the European Union who worked in deployable laboratories in West Africa during the outbreak. This study is part of the EMERGE project. We assessed the experiences of 251 volunteers with a 19-item online questionnaire. The questions asked about positive aspects of volunteering such as learning new skills, establishing a new path in life, and changing life values. Other questionnaire subjects were the compliance to follow-up measures, the extent to which volunteers felt these measures restricted their daily activities, the fear of stigmatization, and worries about becoming infected or infecting their families. The volunteers reported positive effects that reached far beyond their daily work, such as changes in life priorities and a greater appreciation of the value of their own lives. Although the volunteers did not feel that temperature monitoring restricted their daily activities, full compliance to temperature monitoring and reporting it to the authorities was low. The volunteers did not fear Ebola infection for themselves or their families and were not afraid of stigmatization. With respect to the burden on the families, 50% reported that their family members were worried that the volunteer would be infected with Ebola virus. Altogether, the positive experiences of the volunteers in this study far outweigh the negative implications and constitute an important argument for inspiring people who intend to join such missions and for motivating the hesitant ones
    corecore