Dairy Wastewater, Aquaculture, and Spawning Fish as Sources of Steroid Hormones in the Aquatic Environment

A suite of androgens, estrogens, and progestins were measured in samples from dairy farms, aquaculture facilities, and surface waters with actively spawning fish using gas chromatography−tandem mass spectrometry (GC/MS/MS) to assess the potential importance of these sources of steroid hormones to surface waters. In a dairy waste lagoon, the endogenous estrogens 17β-estradiol and estrone and the androgens testosterone and androstenedione were detected at concentrations as high as 650 ng/L. Samples from nearby groundwater monitoring wells demonstrated removal of steroid hormones in the subsurface. Samples from nearby surface waters and tile drains likely impacted by animal wastes demonstrated the sporadic presence of the steroids 17β-estradiol, estrone, testosterone, and medroxyprogesterone, usually at concentrations near or below 1 ng/L. The endogenous steroids estrone, testosterone, and androstenedione were detected in the raceways and effluents of three fish hatcheries at concentrations near 1 ng/L. Similar concentrations were detected in a river containing spawning adult Chinook salmon. These results indicate that dairy wastewater, aquaculture effluents, and even spawning fish can lead to detectable concentrations of steroid hormones in surface waters and that the concentrations of these compounds exhibit considerable temporal and spatial variation.