Targeting at the characteristics of low concentration but high risk of endocrine disrupting compounds in the aquatic environment, the current study investigated the distribution of estrogenicity and E2 level using recombinant yeast estrogen screen (YES) and enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELSIA) during domestic wastewater treatment processes. The results showed that the levels of estrogenicity and E2 in influents of wastewater treatment plants were 4.35-7.58 ng·L-1 and 36.95-83.43 ng·L-1, respectively. It was found that biological treatment processes played a crucial role in the removal of estrogenicity and E2, such as oxidation ditch, A2/O and A2/O followed by MBR, where the removal of estrogenicity and E2 was 71.10%-75.54% and 75.88%-80.72%, respectively. The activated sludge, with an estrogencity level of 1.84-2.43 ng·g-1 and an E2 level of 8.45-12.84 ng·g-1, had the function of eliminating estrogenic effect to a certain extent by adsorption. The estrogenic activity in the effluent of domestic wastewater was 1.06-2.19 ng·L-1, which will pose potential risk to the aquatic life in the environment. Last but not least, ELISA had a good correlation with YES assay, which provides a new method for rapid screening and assessment of water environmental estrogen.
Keywords: E2; enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELSIA); estrogenicity; removal; wastewater; yeast estrogen screen(YES).