Influence of Population Demographics on the Concentration of the Oral Contraceptive, 17a-Ethinylestradiol, in the Denton Wastewater Treatment Effluent

Introduction

17a-Ethinylestradiol also known as EE2 is an estrogen found in many birth control pills which has increased in the waste treatment plants because of increased human consumption (Brooks et al, 2003). In the recent years the high levels of EE2 have interfered with the normal aquatic ecosystems and have been seen to cause some effects on the aquatic species (Becker, 2001). Most laboratory tests have confirmed that EE2 has some effects on the aquatic species since it ensures that male fish species portray character traits of female fish and interferes with the reproduction composition and functions (Huggett et al, 2003). The levels of EE2 are determined by the number of women using the medication. Most women according to the previous research carried out are seen to use the medication (Legato, 2010) and therefore this increases the level of EE2 and in turn interferes with the normal aquatic conditions. This experiment was carried out to determine the effect of population on the concentration of EE2 and whether the levels of EE2 vary with population. It is predicted that the levels of EE2 will increase with increase in human population especially women population since they will consume the medication since they want to control the already high population.

Liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry were used to measure the amounts of EE2 present in the Denton waste water treatment plant (Nelson et al, 2004). 500ml samples were corrected from the plant where d3 17β-estradiol was used to measure the amounts of EE2 present in the collected samples. 250ml of ethyl acetate was used to extract the samples twice. The samples were them put together and dried together using nitrogen. This residue was combined with 0.5ml of ethyl acetate and then transferred to 1ml amber glass vials. This mixture was later dried in nitrogen and later resuspended through methanol. This is the methodology followed to determine the concentration of EE2 since it is harmful since it interferes with the natural aquatic ecosystem since it affects the reproduction of the male fish. The results shows that concentration of EE2 is highest during months of October and April since most of the universities are in session. Most of the young female students are seen to use the birth control pills and thus their presence ensures that the EE2 levels rise when the universities are in session compared to when the universities are closed.

The hypothesis is valid since the concentrations of EE2 were high as the population of women increased. The more the women population increases in Denton the more the levels of EE2 since most of the young women in Denton are observed to use the medication. The concentrations of EE2 become high since most young females use the medication and later excrete it in their wastes. With the increased human population it is noted that the levels of EE2 will increase since many women will still use the birth control pills. Denton has a number of universities and it is researched that the more the number of female students, the more the levels of EE2 since the female students will use the birth control pills more. The samples used indicate that the more the human population, the more the levels of EE2 but the results are a bit inaccurate since more samples need to be used in order to come up with accurate conclusions.

 

 

 

 

References

Brooks,B.W.,Foran,C.M.,Peterson,B.N.,Weston,J.LaPoint,T.W.,&Huggett,D.B.(2003).Linkages between population demographics and effluent estrogenicity.             BulletinofEnvironmentalContaminationandToxicology71,504--‐51.

Huggett,D.B.,Foran,C.M.Brooks,B.W.,Weston,J.,Peterson,B.N.,Marsh,E.,&Schlenk,D.(2003).In vitro and in vivo comparison of municipal            effluentestrogenicity.ToxicologicalSciences72,77--‐83.

Nelson,R.,Grebe,S.,O’Kane,D.,&Singh,R.(2004).Liquidchromatography--  ‐tandemmassspectrometryassayforsimultaneousmeasurementofestradiolandestroneinhum            anplasma.ClinicalChemistry50,373--‐84.

Legato, M. J. (2010). Principles of gender-specific medicine.

Becker, K. L. (2001). Principles and practice of endocrinology and metabolism. Philadelphia,     Pa. [u.a.: Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins.