Publication Details |
| Category | Text Publication |
| Reference Category | Journals |
| DOI | 10.1016/j.envres.2023.117076 |
| Title (Primary) | Endocrine disrupting chemicals in wastewater treatment plants in Kenya, East Africa: Concentrations, removal efficiency, mass loading rates and ecological impacts |
| Author | Ngeno, E.; Ongulu, R.; Orata, F.; Matovu, H.; Shikuku, V.; Onchiri, R.; Mayaka, A.; Majanga, E.; Getenga, Z.; Gichumbi, J.; Ssebugere, P. |
| Source Titel | Environmental Research |
| Year | 2023 |
| Department | AUC; ZELLTOX |
| Volume | 237, Part 2 |
| Page From | art. 117076 |
| Language | englisch |
| Topic | T9 Healthy Planet |
| Abstract | This study investigated the levels, mass loadings, removal efficiency, and
associated ecotoxicological risks of selected endocrine disrupting chemicals
(EDCs), namely, dibutylphthalate (DBP), diethylhexylphthalate (DEHP),
dimethylphthalate (DMP), linuron (LNR) and progesterone (PGT) in wastewater, sludge,
and untreated dry biosolid (UDBS) samples from twelve wastewater treatment
plants (WWTPs) in nine major towns in Kenya. Analysis was done using
high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with triple quadrupole mass
spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). All the wastewater influents had quantifiable levels
of EDCs with DBP being the most abundant (37.49%) with a range of
4.33 ± 0.63 to 19.68 ± 1.24 μg L−1.
DEHP was the most abundant in sludge and accounted for 48.2% ranging between
278.67 and 9243.49 ng g−1 dry weight (dw). In the UDBS
samples, DEHP was also the most abundant (40%) of the total EDCs detected with
levels ranging from 78.77 to 3938.54 ng g−1 dw. The
average removal efficiency per pollutant was as follows: DMP
(98.7%) > DEHP (91.7%) > PGT (83.4%) > DBP
(77.9%) > LNR (72.2%) which can be attributed to sorption onto the
biosolid, biological degradation, photolysis, and phytoremediation. The pH was
negatively correlated to the EDC concentrations while total dissolved solids
(TDS), chemical oxygen demand (COD), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5),
and electrical conductivity (EC) were positively correlated. The mass loadings
were as high as 373.33 g day−1 of DBP in the treatment plants
located in densely populated cities. DEHP and PGT had their Risk Quotients
(RQs) > 1, posing a high risk to biota. DMP, DBP, and LNR posed
medium risks as their RQ values were between 0.1 and 1. EDCs are therefore
loaded to environmental compartments through either the effluent that loads
these pollutants into the receiving aquatic ecosystem or through the UDBS,
which are used as fertilizers in agricultural farmlands causing potential toxicological
risks to aquatic and terrestrial life.
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| Persistent UFZ Identifier | https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=20939&ufzPublicationIdentifier=27936 |
| Ngeno, E., Ongulu, R., Orata, F., Matovu, H., Shikuku, V., Onchiri, R., Mayaka, A., Majanga, E., Getenga, Z., Gichumbi, J., Ssebugere, P. (2023): Endocrine disrupting chemicals in wastewater treatment plants in Kenya, East Africa: Concentrations, removal efficiency, mass loading rates and ecological impacts Environ. Res. 237, Part 2 , art. 117076 10.1016/j.envres.2023.117076 |
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