TY - JOUR
T1 - Transport of testosterone and estrogen from dairy-farm waste lagoons to groundwater
AU - Arnon, Shai
AU - Dahan, Ofer
AU - Elhanany, Sara
AU - Cohen, Keren
AU - Pankratov, Irena
AU - Gross, Amit
AU - Ronen, Zeev
AU - Baram, Shahar
AU - Shore, Laurence S.
PY - 2008/8/1
Y1 - 2008/8/1
N2 - Although concentrated animal feeding operations constantly generate physiologically active steroidal hormones, little is known of their environmental fate. Estrogen and testosterone concentrations in groundwater and their distribution in sediments below a dairy-farm wastewater lagoon were therefore determined and compared to a reference site located upgradient of the farm. Forward simulations of flow as well as estrogen and testosterone transport were conducted based on data from the sediment profile obtained during drilling of a monitoring well below the dairy-farm waste lagoon. Testosterone and estrogen were detected in sediments to depths of 45 and 32 m, respectively. Groundwater samples were directly impacted by the dairy farm, as evidenced by elevated concentrations of nitrate, chloride, testosterone, and estrogen as compared to the reference site. Modeling potential transport of hormones in the vadose zone via advection, dispersion, and sorption could not explain the depths at which estrogen and testosterone were found, suggesting that other transport mechanisms influence hormone transport under field conditions. These mechanisms may involve interactions between hormones and manure as well as preferential flow paths, leading to enhanced transport rates. These types of interactions should be further investigated to understand the processes regulating hormone transport in the subsurface environment and parametrized to forecast long-term fate and transport of steroidal hormones.
AB - Although concentrated animal feeding operations constantly generate physiologically active steroidal hormones, little is known of their environmental fate. Estrogen and testosterone concentrations in groundwater and their distribution in sediments below a dairy-farm wastewater lagoon were therefore determined and compared to a reference site located upgradient of the farm. Forward simulations of flow as well as estrogen and testosterone transport were conducted based on data from the sediment profile obtained during drilling of a monitoring well below the dairy-farm waste lagoon. Testosterone and estrogen were detected in sediments to depths of 45 and 32 m, respectively. Groundwater samples were directly impacted by the dairy farm, as evidenced by elevated concentrations of nitrate, chloride, testosterone, and estrogen as compared to the reference site. Modeling potential transport of hormones in the vadose zone via advection, dispersion, and sorption could not explain the depths at which estrogen and testosterone were found, suggesting that other transport mechanisms influence hormone transport under field conditions. These mechanisms may involve interactions between hormones and manure as well as preferential flow paths, leading to enhanced transport rates. These types of interactions should be further investigated to understand the processes regulating hormone transport in the subsurface environment and parametrized to forecast long-term fate and transport of steroidal hormones.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=48749127454&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1021/es800784m
DO - 10.1021/es800784m
M3 - Article
C2 - 18754470
AN - SCOPUS:48749127454
SN - 0013-936X
VL - 42
SP - 5521
EP - 5526
JO - Environmental Science and Technology
JF - Environmental Science and Technology
IS - 15
ER -
