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Investigation of free and conjugated estrogen fate and emission coefficients in three duck farms

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Abstract

Concentration animal feeding operation (CAFO) is an important source of environmental estrogen. However, to the best of our knowledge, the data on estrogen discharge during duck breeding and growth is insufficient. This study used liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) to analyze the free and conjugated estrogen concentrations in the surface water, outlet water, groundwater, and duck manure/soil mixture at three duck farms in Taiwan. Natural estrogen species included estrone (E1), 17β-estradiol (E2), estriol (E3), estrone-3-sulfate (E1-3S), 17β-estradiol-3-sulfate (E2-3S), estrone-3-glucuronide (E1-3G), and 17β-estradiol-3-glucuronide (E2-3G), whereas synthetic estrogen included 17α-ethynylestradiol (EE2) and diethylstilbestrol (DES). This study showed that the total estrogen concentrations in the surface water and groundwater were 15.4 and 4.5 ng/L, respectively, which constituted 56% and 58%, respectively, conjugated estrogen. From the pond to the outlet water, the total estrogen concentration decreased by 3.9 ng/L (23% loss) in the duck farms. However, the estrogenic potency was slightly reduced from 0.91 to 0.88 E2 equivalent/L, showing a negligible decrease. From the pond to the outlet water, the field results showed that converting the conjugated estrogen into free estrogen in the duck farm-released water increased their environmental hazard. Primarily E1, with an average concentration of 0.9 ± 1.6 ng/g, was present in the duck manure. The estrogen excreted by the ducks in the pond (from surface water to outlet water) was estimated to be 0.18 kg/million head-year. Although the estrogen concentration in the duck farms was low, the environmental impact of CAFO should not be neglected.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Center for Agricultural and Aquacultural Product Inspection and Certification of the National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Taiwan, for assisting in the development of analytical methods. The LC/MS/MS used for estrogen analyses was financially supported by the National Pingtung University of Science and Technology.

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  1. Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Pingtung, 91201, Taiwan

    Hao-Shen Hung, Kuei-Jyum C. Yeh & Ting-Chien Chen

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  1. Hao-Shen Hung
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  2. Kuei-Jyum C. Yeh
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Hao-shen Hung, writing, methodology, visualization, investigation, and validation. Kuei-Jyum C. Yeh, methodology, supervision, and funding acquisition. Ting-Chien Chen, writing, review and editing, conceptualization, and methodology.

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Correspondence to Ting-Chien Chen.

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Hung, HS., Yeh, KJ.C. & Chen, TC. Investigation of free and conjugated estrogen fate and emission coefficients in three duck farms. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 9874–9885 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-22829-9

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