Oestrogenicity and wastewater recycling: Experience from Essex and Suffolk water

Research into possible endocrine disrupters and their effects, which is necessary to prove the safety of recycling schemes, is described. The research concentrated on the analysis of three steroid oestrogens and on trout bioassay (vitellogenin). The work was carried out in (a) experimental fish tanks using various mixtures of river water and treated wastewater, (b) pilot plants for wastewater and potable water treatment, and (c) monitoring the oestrogenic effects of discharging disinfected treated wastewater into Hanningfield reservoir during the 1995-98 drought. The overall conclusion is that the presence of minute traces of oestrogens in wastewater is not an insurmountable problem because they can be removed by dilution and self-purification in rivers and reservoirs, by activated carbon and ultraviolet radiation in the recycling plant, and by ozone and activated carbon in water-treatment plants.