Publication Abstract

Bio-analytical and Chemical Characterisation of Offshore Produced Water Effluents for Estrogen Receptor (ER) Agonists

K.V. Thomas; J. Balaam, M.R. Hurst and J.E. Thain

The in vitro estrogen receptor (ER) agonist potency and C1 to C9 alkyl substituted phenol content of offshore produced water effluents collected from the UK sector of the North Sea were determined using a combination of bio-analytical and chemical analysis techniques. An in vitro reporter gene assay was used to determine ER agonist potency, whilst gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was used to quantify the concentration of alkylphenols. The in vitro ER agonist potency was highly variable and ranged from less than the limit of detection (theoretically 0.03 ng 17β-estradiol (E2) l-1) to 91 ng E2 l-1. C1 to C5 alkylphenols were also highly variable highly variable ranging from 5 to 1600 µg l-1 with a median concentration of 206 µg l-1. These data reflect the highly variable composition of produced water discharges. Poor correlation of the alkylphenol isomer content and ER agonist activity suggests that that other compounds present in the produced water discharges may be responsible for the ER agonist activity determined. It is recommended that further work be performed to characterise the ER agonists present in offshore produced water discharges.

Reference:

K.V. Thomas; J. Balaam, M.R. Hurst and J.E. Thain (2004) Bio-analytical and Chemical Characterisation of Offshore Produced Water Effluents for Estrogen Receptor (ER) Agonists. Journal of Environmental Monitoring, 6(7): 593-598