Occurrence of Estrogens in Wastewater Treatment Plants and Surface Water in Bangkok Area, Thailand

摘要

This study is the beginning of attempts to obtain existing data of estrogens contamination in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in Bangkok Metropolitan area. Influents and effluents of seven WWTPs in Bangkok, and water samples from Bang-sue canal (receiving water from Chatuchak (CTC)-WWTP) and Chaopraya River (as receiving water from Chongnonsri (CNS)-WWTP) were collected by grab sampling. The sampling and analyses were done three times in a year round, during March to April 2010, October 2010, and January 2011. 17β-estradiol (E2) was found as in the majority in most samples including the surface water samples. In addition, the results of receiving water samples in both locations show that downstream (of discharged point) estrogens were a little higher than upstream ones. This could imply that WWTPs might be the important sources of estrogens contamination in surface (receiving) waters in Bangkok area and that the biological wastewater treatment processes currently used in WWTPs could not completely remove these estrogens.