ABSTRACT
Objective To study the concentrations of endocrine disrupting compounds in reclaimed water samples. Methods A solid-phase extraction (SPE)-gas chromatography (GC)-mass spectrometry (MS) analytical method was used for the separation and determination of endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) from water samples. The water samples were collected from each process of the reclaimed water plant of Tianjin, China. Important and contrasting EDCs including estrone (E1), 17?-estradiol (E2), 17?-ethynylestradiol (EE2), 4-tert-octylphenol (OP), 4-nonylphenol (NP), bisphenol A (BPA), di-n-butyl phthalate (DnBP), diisobutyl phthalate (DIBP), and di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) were selected as the target compounds. C-18 solid-phase extraction (SPE) technique was used for the extraction recoveries of target compounds from water samples while ethyl acetate was efficient in eluting EDCs from SPE cartridges. After elution from the SPE column, the t-butyldimethylsilyl (TBS) derivatives of EDCs with N-methyl-N-(tertbutyldimethylsilyl) trifluoroacetamide (MTBSTFA) were analyzed by GC-MS in the selected ion mode (SIM). Results Concentrations of steroid hormones, phenolic compounds and phthalate esters ranged from not detected to 7.01 ng/L, 4.85 ng/L, and 0.03 ?g/L to 23.82 ?g/L, respectively. Conclusion Environmental endocrine disrupting compounds are not completely removed in the process of reclaimed water treatment and will be carried over into the general aquatic environment as it will be reused.