Hormones in Land-Applied Biosolids Could Affect Aquatic Organisms

Scientists setting up equipment used to apply artificial rainfall to a small test plot on a field that received an application of biosolids. The scientists captured the runoff from the plot for later chemical analysis. Photo credit: V. Cory Stephens, USGS.
(Larger version)
Biosolids are created from the sludge generated by the treatment of sewage at wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and are known to contain natural and synthetic hormones. Biosolids are frequently applied to agricultural fields to manage the large quantities of biosolids generated by WWTPs and to improve soil nutrient and water retention characteristics. The team of scientists collaborated with a local farmer to assess the potential for seventeen different hormones (including androgens, estrogens, and progestogens) and two sterols (waxy compounds such as cholesterol) to occur in the rainfall runoff from a winter wheat field in eastern Colorado where biosolids were applied. Small test plots (6 by 6 meters) were identified both before and after biosolids application. The scientists then created artificial rain events and collected the rainfall runoff from the test plots for later chemical analysis. The winter wheat field with the test plots had no prior history of biosolid applications.
Runoff samples collected prior to biosolids application had low concentrations of two hormones (estrone as much as 2.23 nanograms per liter (ng/L) and androstenedione as much as 1.54 ng/L). In contrast, significantly higher concentrations of multiple estrogens (as much as 25.0 ng/L), androgens (as much as 216 ng/L), and progesterone (as much as 98.9 ng/L) were observed in runoff samples taken 1, 8, and 35 days after biosolids application. The observed concentrations, if they reached streams without being diluted or absorbed, are high enough to impact the health of susceptible fish. These results demonstrate that rainfall has the potential to mobilize hormones from agricultural fields where biosolids have been applied.
The USGS's Toxic Substances Hydrology Program and National Water Quality Laboratory, the Colorado Water Institute, the National Science Foundation's Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program, and Colorado State University funded this study.
References
Yang, Y.-Y., Gray, J.L., Furlong, E.T., Davis, J.G., ReVello, R.C., and Borch, T., 2012, Steroid hormone runoff from agricultural test plots applied with municipal biosolids: Environmental Science and Technology, v. 46, no. 5, p. 2746-2754, doi:10.1021/es203896t.
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- Land Application of Municipal Biosolids, Emerging Contaminants Investigation
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Household Chemicals and Drugs Found in Biosolids from Wastewater Treatment Plants
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Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in the United States generate approximately
7 million dry tons of biosolids each year. Since biosolids are rich in plant nutrients, farmers, landscapers, and homeowners use about 50 percent of the annual production of biosolids as fertilizer for plants. Biosolids must meet standards for nutrient, metal, and pathogen content before it can be used to fertilize plants and to improve the quality of soil. Because a variety of pharmaceuticals and other household chemicals have been found in the wastewater discharged from WWTPs, questions have been raised about the presence of these chemicals in biosolids. To help answer the questions the scientists purchased or obtained nine different commercially or publicly available biosolids and analyzed them for 87 organic chemicals found in cleaners, personal care products, pharmaceuticals, and other products. They found:
- Fifty-five of the 87 organic chemicals measured were detected in at least one of the nine biosolids collected, with as many as 45 chemicals found in a single sample.
- Twenty-five of the chemicals were present in every biosolid sample including compounds that are pharmaceutically and hormonally active, such as an antimicrobial disinfectant (triclosan), a musk fragrance (tonalide), an antihistamine (diphenhydramine), and an antiepileptic drug (carbamazepine).
A scientist (now with Colorado State University-Pueblo) preparing samples of biosolids for extraction using accelerated solvent extraction. The samples were analyzed for a broad suite of emerging contaminants.
(Click on photo for larger version)- The biosolids were more similar than they were different, even though they were produced by a variety of treatment processes from plants serving vastly different sized cities and towns. The types of contaminants and their relation to each other did not vary greatly between the biosolids tested.
Reference
Kinney, C.A., Furlong, E.T., Zaugg, S.D., Burkhardt, M.R., Werner, S.L., Cahill, J.D., and Jorgensen, G.R., 2006, Survey of organic wastewater contaminants in biosolids destined for land application: Environmental Science and Technology, v. 40, no. 23, p. 7207-7215, doi:10.1021/es0603406.
http://toxics.usgs.gov/highlights/biosolids.html
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