Chemical and biological analysis of endocrine-disrupting hormones and estrogenic activity in an advanced sewage treatment plant.

The steroid hormones estrone (E(1)), 17beta-estradiol (E(2)), estriol (E(3)), 17alpha-ethinylestradiol (EE(2)), and their conjugated forms were surveyed throughout an advanced sewage treatment plant (STP). The estrogen concentrations in water and sludge samples, collected in October 2004 and April 2005, were determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Simultaneously, the estrogenic activity was quantified using estrogen-responsive reporter cell lines (MELN) to investigate the behavior of overall estrogenic compounds.