Bestimmung von Einzelöstrogenen im Oberflächenwasser des Einzugsgebietes der Stadt Prag (Tschechische Republik)

To remove efficiently steroid hormones will soon and quickly become a key water quality issue in densely populated and water deficient areas. Prague city (Czech Republic) with 1.2 million inhabitants and a well defined drainage and sewage system is an ideal place to study input and fate of natural and synthetic estrogens in surface water. Concentrations of 17β-estradiol, estriol, estrone, 17α-ethinylestradiol, mestranol and norethisterone have been determined in the creeks and rivers, in the city's sewage treatment plants and in the water works of Prague. The highest total estrogen content of 466 ng/l is found in the sewage entering the major sewage treatment plant. The effluents still contain between 72 and 100 ng/l total estrogens. Before entering the city of Prague, the water of the river Vltava has a total estrogen content below 1 ng/l. It increases up to 3.8 ng/l in the city. During wastewater treatment the natural estrogen 17β-estradiol is degraded to estrone. Presence of 17α-ethinylestradiol in small creeks all over the city area suggests environmental persistence and general input.