Microbial Degradation of Free and Halogenated Estrogens in River Water-Sediment Microcosms.

Halogenated estrogens are formed during chlorine-based wastewater disinfection and have been detected in wastewater treatment plant effluent; however, very little is known about their susceptibility to biodegradation in natural waters. To better understand the biodegradation of free and halogenated estrogens in a large river under environmentally relevant conditions, we measured estrogen kinetics in aerobic microcosms containing water and sediment from the Willamette River (OR, USA) at two concentrations (50 and 1250 ng L). Control microcosms were used to characterize losses due to sorption and other abiotic processes, and microbial dynamics were monitored using 16S rRNA gene sequencing and ATP.