| Abstract
| - A suite of androgens, estrogens, and progestins weremeasured in samples from dairy farms, aquaculture facilities,and surface waters with actively spawning fish usinggas chromatography−tandem mass spectrometry (GC/MS/MS) to assess the potential importance of these sourcesof steroid hormones to surface waters. In a dairy waste lagoon,the endogenous estrogens 17β-estradiol and estroneand the androgens testosterone and androstenedione weredetected at concentrations as high as 650 ng/L. Samplesfrom nearby groundwater monitoring wells demonstratedremoval of steroid hormones in the subsurface. Samplesfrom nearby surface waters and tile drains likely impactedby animal wastes demonstrated the sporadic presenceof the steroids 17β-estradiol, estrone, testosterone, andmedroxyprogesterone, usually at concentrations near orbelow 1 ng/L. The endogenous steroids estrone, testosterone,and androstenedione were detected in the racewaysand effluents of three fish hatcheries at concentrationsnear 1 ng/L. Similar concentrations were detected in a rivercontaining spawning adult Chinook salmon. Theseresults indicate that dairy wastewater, aquacultureeffluents, and even spawning fish can lead to detectableconcentrations of steroid hormones in surface waters andthat the concentrations of these compounds exhibitconsiderable temporal and spatial variation.
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