Preliminary investigation on 13 endocrine disrupting chemicals in the Songhua River

Solid phase extraction/high performance liquid chromatography was used for simultaneous determination of 13 representative endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) in Songhua River water. It was observed that the concentrations of 5 estrogens, estriol (E3), 17β-estradiol (E2), estrone (E1), 17α-ethynylestradiol (EE2) and diethylstilbestrol (DES) were rather high over the Harbin reaches of the river, with the maximum content reaching 66 ng·L^-1 Dimethyl phthalate (DMP), diethyl phthalate (DEP), di-n-butyl phthalate (DnBP) and di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) were more abundant than other EDCs, and DnBP had the highest concentration at 330 μg·L^-1. Contents of 3 alkylphenols, 4-n-nonylphenol (4-n-NP), branched p-nonylphenol(NP) and 4-tert-octylphenol (4-t-OP) were in the range of 25-1261 ng·L^-1. The concentrations of bisphenol A (BPA) were relatively stable, in the range of 20-50 ng·L^-1, In comparison to the concentrations of EDCs reported in the literature, these results demonstrate that the pollution of estrogens and phthalic acid esters (PAEs) is serious and needs special attention.