REMOVAL OF ESTROGENICITY IN SWEDISH MUNICIPAL SEWAGE TREATMENT PLANTS

The discharge from Swedish domestic sewage treatment plants contained estrogenic compounds corresponding to 0.1-15ng estradiol equivalent/l. Low levels of estrogenic activity were also found in a river receiving municipal effluents. The range of estrogenicity in untreated, raw sewage effluents was found to be 1-30ng estradiol equivalent/l. Activated sludge treatment tended to be more effective than trickling filters, whereas chemical precipitation using iron or aluminium salts without biological treatment showed little effectivity. The study showed that treatment methods in current use are able to eliminate estrogenecity in domestic wastewater.