This study investigated the effects of current and emerging reuse water treatment
technologies, including advanced oxidation processes (AOPs), on the removal of
indigenous estrogenic activity and spiked endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) into
reclaimed waters by use of the receptor-binding yeast estrogen screen (YES). AOPs have
been considered an effective technique for the removal of many organic pollutants in
water. This study was conducted in both field scale and bench scale experiments. This
YES bioassay detects compounds that bind with the human estrogen receptor (hER)
integrated into yeasts (Saccharomyces cerevisae). The YES assay allows for greater
sensitivity to quantitatively detect a variety of known and unknown estrogens via a
receptor mechanism. The YES assay is therefore a broad and sensitive method compared
to conventional chemical analyses, allowing for assessment of the effectiveness of each
technology to remove the EDCs to trace (non-bio-active) levels. In field tests, the native
effluent estradiol equivalent concentration (EEQ) was 430 ng/L and was reduced by 60%
(to 170 ng/L) during microfiltration. Further reduction of estrogenicity by more than 90%
(<20 ng/L) was achieved following ozonation and O3/H2O2 treatment. Bench scale
experiments with spiked EDCs were also performed to compare the results obtained in
field scale experiments using an expanded suite of treatments. The results from the bench
scale experiments show that total estrogenicity decreased by 90% for LP UV with 5 ppm
H2O2 after UV exposure of 150 mJ/cm2. However, there appeared to be no additional
removal with increasing UV fluence. From the results in the field and bench scale
experiments to date, the AOPs are a promising tool for the control of EDCs in reclaimed
water. Includes 5 references, tables, figures.