Benzotriazoles, Alkylphenols and Bisphenol A in Municipal Wastewaters and in the Glatt River, Switzerland

- DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1065/espr2006.01.295 Background Many organic micropollutants occur at trace concentrations in municipal wastewater effluents and in the aquatic environment. Some of these xenobiotic chemicals can be considered as 'emerging' contaminants and some are suspect to have endocrine disrupting effects. Among the latter are nonylphenol (NP), octylphenol (OP) and bisphenol A (BPA), which deserve special attention due to their ubiquitous occurrence in the aquatic environment. The complexing agents benzotriazole (BT) and tolyltriazole (TT) are applied as anticorrosive agents (e.g. in cooling and hydraulic fluids, in antifreezing fluids, in aircraft deicing fluids, in dish washing liquids for silver protection), as antifogging agents and as intermediates for the synthesis of various chemicals. The environmental occurrence of NP and OP is caused by the fact that they are intermediate products (metabolites) in the biodegradation of alkylphenol polyethoxylate surfactants. BPA is globally used for the production of polycarbonate and epoxy resins. Methods BT, TT, NP, OP and BPA were quantitatively determined in municipal wastewater effluents in Switzerland and in the Glatt River. The analytes were enriched by solid-phase enrichment. BT and TT were determined underivatized by electrospray LC/tandem MS. Reversed-phase LC was performed on octylsilica columns with isocratic water/methanol elution. Multiple reaction monitoring of the positive ions provided selective and sensitive detection for reliable quantifications. NP, OP and BPA were determined by GC/MS after derivatization with N-methyl-N-(trimethylsilyl)-trifluoroacetamide. Results and Discussion BT and TT concentrations in primary and secondary effluents of municipal wastewater treatment plants varied from below 10 to 100 μg/L. The ranges of the concentrations in the Glatt River in ng/L were 636–3,690 for BT, 122–628 for TT, 68–326 for NP, 6–22 for OP and 9–76 for BPA. The corresponding mass flows in g/d were 93–1,870 for BT, 18–360 for TT, 24–183 for NP, 1–16 for OP and 2–72 for BPA. The concentrations and mass flows of NP in the River Glatt were drastically lower than the analogous values found 15 years ago. Thus, a substantially decreased environmental exposure can be observed due to the reduction of the use of alkyphenol polyethoxylate surfactants in Switzerland. The current concentrations of NP, OP and BPA are within the ranges reported for weakly impacted surface waters. Conclusion The investigated contaminants occur at quantitatively measurable but varying concentrations in municipal wastewaters and in the Glatt River reflecting their ubiquitous input into wastewaters and their different behaviour during biological wastewater treatment.     

壬基酚降解酶的固定化及特性研究

用海藻酸钠包埋法对壬基酚(NP)降解酶进行了固定化研究,并对固定化酶的最适反应温度和最适pH、及其稳定性进行了探讨。实验结果表明,用3%海藻酸钠、2%CaCl2溶液固定化的酶活力最高;固定化NP降解酶的最适反应温度为35℃,最适pH为7.0,其热稳定性和pH稳定性都有一定程度的提高。。     

Toxicity of the xenoestrogen nonylphenol and its biodegradation by the alga Cyclotella caspia

Alkylphenols (APs), the breakdown products of alkylphenol polyethoxylates that are widely used as surfactants, have been proven to exert estrogenic effects. With industrial development, higher concentrations of APs are discharged into aquatic environments. Nonylphenol (NP), the most noxious AP, is included in the blacklist of several countries. The toxicity of NP to the alga Cyclotella caspia and the biodegradation of NP by C. caspia were studied in the laboratory. The median effective concentration at 96 hr (96 hr EC50 ) of NP for C. caspia was found to be 0.18 mg/L. Five toxicity and three degradation indices were selected for toxicity and biodegradation experiments, respectively, in five or three concentrations of NP set by the 96 hr EC50 of NP. The algal growth rate and chlorophyll a contents decreased as NP concentration increased. The main manifestations of morphological deformity of the cells included volume expansion and the presence of cytoplasmic inclusions (lipid droplets). The abnormality rate of the cells increased with NP concentration and time, and was 100% at 0.22 and 0.26 mg/L of NP after 192 hr of culture. Superoxide dismutase activity initially increased and then declined at a higher NP toxicity of greater than 0.18 mg/L. After 192 hr of culture, the biodegradation rates of NP by C. caspia with initial concentrations of 0.14, 0.18, and 0.22 mg/L were 37.7%, 31.7%, and 6.5%, respectively. The kinetic equation of C. caspia biodegradation on NP was correlated with algal growth rate and initial NP concentration.     

壬基酚的微生物降解研究

随着全球经济和社会的发展,进入环境中的外来物质越来越多,其中许多有机污染物对微生物有抑制作用.近年的研究发现,壬基酚在各领域的广泛使用,环境中壬基酚的污染日趋严重,对人类和生态环境的危害不容忽视.针对壬基酚的危害及其微生物降解,举例说明了用于降解的微生物,阐述了壬基酚的微生物代谢途径、降解过程中的氧气、温度、pH、底物浓度等主要因素对降解影响的研究进展,并对壬基酚的微生物降解研究做出总结.     

壬基酚对成体玫瑰无须性腺的毒性效应

以成体玫瑰无须（Puntius conchonius）为实验材料,通过半致死浓度（LC₅₀）、性腺指数以及组织病理学指标对壬基酚（NP）的毒性进行了评价.结果表明,在半静止条件下,壬基酚对成体玫瑰无须96 h的LC₅₀为（1 .72 ± 0 .06） μmol/L;在亚急性毒性（0 .17、0 .34和0 .68 μmol/L）下成体玫瑰无须暴露于壬基酚21 d后,其精巢指数（TSI）与卵巢指数（OSI）显著降低,并具有明显的剂量-效应关系;同时精巢与卵巢也发生了明显的组织病理学变化,精巢中支持细胞增生、生殖细胞数量减少;卵巢中卵泡发育迟缓、闭锁现象增加.结果说明壬基酚对玫瑰无须的雌、雄性腺均具有毒性效应,干扰了精卵的发育成熟.另外,玫瑰无须对壬基酚具有较高的敏感性,也是评价壬基酚毒性的一种理想模式鱼类.     

Effects of nonylphenol on ovarian cancer cells PEO4 c-myc and p53 mRNA and protein expression

The molecular mechanisms underlying proliferation and apoptosis induced by p-nonylphenol (NP) through regulation of mRNA and protein expression of c-myc, p53 mRNA and the protein was investigated using ovarian cancer PEO4 cells. PEO4 cells were grown in the Dulbecco's modified Eagle medium (DMEM), 3(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl) 2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay was employed to investigate cell proliferation. RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry was performed to determine mRNA and protein expression of PEO4 c-myc and p53. Within the range of approximately 8–9×10^?7 mol L^?1, NP stimulated proliferation in PEO4 cells in a concentration-and time-dependent manner. RT-PCR and immunohistochemistry analyses revealed that treatment with 32 × 10^?7 mol L^?1 NP for 72 hr resulted in increased mRNA and protein expression of PEO4 c-myc and p53. Evidence indicates that NP exerted estrogenic actions and stimulated proliferation in estrogen responsive ovarian cancer PEO4 cells by up-regulation of c-myc mRNA and protein expression.     

Comparative toxicity study of a novel non-ionic surfactant, vanillin ethoxylates, and nonylphenol ethoxylates in Chinese hamster ovary cells in vitro

Surfactants such as alkylphenol polyethoxylates (APEOs) and nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPEOs) are commonly used worldwide, but the majority of these compounds, together with their metabolites, have been reported to induce severe biological toxicity. Here, we evaluated for the first time the cytotoxicity, genotoxicity and mitochondrial damage in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO-K1) cells caused by a novel non-ionic surfactant, vanillin ethoxylates (VAEOs), an alternative to APEOs. In parallel, the same in vitro bioassays were conducted on NPEOs along with their metabolic byproducts 4-nonylphenol (4-NP) and vanillin. The results showed that the cytotoxic potency order was NPEOs?>?4-NP?>?VAEOs > vanillin using CCK-8 assays. Also, 4-NP showed potential direct DNA damage in SOS/umu tests, whereas NPEOs, VAEOs and vanillin showed no positive result with and without S9 addition. In addition, none of the test compounds showed obvious genotoxic effects with low olive tail moment value using comet assays. However, all test compounds were shown to cause mitochondrial impairment by increasing mitochondrial mass and decreasing mitochondrial membrane potential in a concentration-dependent manner. And further analysis of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and mitochondrial superoxide (MNSOD) measurement showed that mitochondrial impairment was induced by oxidative stress with intracellular ROS and MNSOD overproduction. It's worth noting that VAEOs and vanillin cause relative lower cytotoxic, genotoxic and mitochondrial damage effects than NPEOs and 4-NP, indicating that VAEOs have the potential to substitute NPEOs as suitable surfactants. Take together, this study elucidates the toxicity profiles of VAEOs and NPEOs relatively comprehensively, and further toxicity analyses are suggested in the population, community and ecosystem.     

壬基酚的土壤残留及其行为研究进展

壬基酚（NP）是类环境激素物质,具有生物致毒性,在水体、污泥、沉积物中存在普遍,且对食品安全构成威胁,但国内对土壤中壬基酚的残留水平知之甚少。本文对国内外土壤等环境中壬基酚的残留现状及其来源进行总结,综述了土壤环境中残留壬基酚的吸附解吸、淋溶迁移、降解代谢等环境行为及其影响因素,并对未来工作提出展望,以期为进一步开展土壤环境壬基酚的污染调查及其评价研究提供借鉴。     

重庆流域嘉陵江和长江水环境中壬基酚污染状况调查

利用固相萃取（SPE）－气相色谱－质谱法（GC－MS）对嘉陵江和长江重庆段河流和以这两条河流为水源的5个自来水厂水样中壬基粉（NP）进行了检测,河流水样中4月份NP的浓度范围为0.02-1.12μg/L，7月份为1．55－6.85μg/L，自来水厂的水样中，4月份NP浓度范围为＜0．01－0．06μg/L,7月份为.10-2.73μg/L，方法的自来水加标回收率大于90％，环境水样中的加标回收率大于80％，检测限为0.01μg/L.     

Dose-response curve modeling of excess mortality caused by two forms of stress

A method is presented for modeling the effect of two stresses on mortality. The model assumes a multiplicative simple two-parameter dose-response curve relationship between mortality and the two factors as well as for the effect of combining the two factors. The dose-response curve is modified in order to model survival probabilities. It is shown that the model adequately describes mortality data of Folsomia candida (Collembola) in a two-stress factor design.