Water Resources Research Act Program

Details for Project ID 2007AL65B

Assessing the Effectiveness of Various Treatment Methods for Removing Endocrine Disrupting Compounds from Domestic Wastewater

Institute: Alabama
Year Established: 2007 Start Date: 2007-03-01 End Date: 2008-02-29
Total Federal Funds: $25,000 Total Non-Federal Funds: $50,473

Principal Investigators: Robert Angus, Robert Peters

Project Summary: In recent years, it has been determined that various synthetic and natural compounds can mimic, or interfere with the actions of natural hormones and disrupt the endocrine systems of humans and wildlife. These substances, collectively referred to as endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs), have been linked to a variety of adverse effects in both humans and wildlife. Numerous EDCs, most of which act as estrogens, have been detected in various surface and ground waters. The rpoposed research intends to investigate the effectiveness of various advanced oxidation process (AOP) techniques in degrading the two most potent steroids in aqueous solution, and analyzing water and sediments in streams in the Birmingham area receiving treated wastewater to determine whether the estrogens are present in concentrations sufficient to disrupt endocrine syatems of aquatic organisms in the receiving waters.