Monitoring of Endocrine-Disrupting Compounds in Surface Water and Sediments of the Three Gorges Reservoir Region, China

Occurrence and distribution of eight selected endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs), including estrone (E1), 17 alpha-ethinylestradiol (EE2), 17 alpha-estradiol (alpha E2), 17 beta-estradiol (beta E2), estriol (E3), bisphenol A (BPA), 4-nonylphenol (NP), and 4-octylphenol (OP), were investigated in surface water and sediments of the Three Gorges Reservoir region (TGRR). The mean concentrations of E1, alpha E2, beta E2, E3, EE2, BPA, NP, and OP were 10.3, 3.3, 3.7, 17.2, 7.8, 26.6, 10.8, and 32.3 ng L-1 respectively in surface water and 2.6, 4.1, 7.7, 2.4, 11.8, 17.4, 5.0, and 5.3 ng g(-1) dry weight (dw) respectively in sediments. BPA, NP, and OP were the main EDCs in both media. Distributions of EDCs in surface water and sediments varied significantly in space but not synchronously. The higher EDCs abundance was found in the upstream water of the TGRR. EDCs concentrations in sediments had no correlations with those in water and the total organic carbon content in sediments. EDCs presented low to high risks in the water, and steroidal estrogens were the main contributors to the total estrogenic activities.