The European Decision EU 2015/495 included three steroidal estrogens, estrone, 17β-estradiol and 17α-ethinyl estradiol, in the “watch-list” of the Water Framework Directive (WFD). As consequence, these substances have to be chemically monitored at the level of their environmental quality standards, which can be challenging. This project aimed to identify reliable effect-based methods (EBMs) for screening of endocrine disrupting compounds, to harmonise monitoring and data interpretation methods, and to contribute to the current WFD review process. Water and wastewater samples were collected across Europe and analysed using chemical analyses and EBMs. The results showed that 17β-estradiol equivalents were comparable among methods, while results can vary between methods based on the relative potencies for individual substances. Further, derived 17β-estradiol equivalents were highly correlated with LC-MS/MS analyses. This study shows that the inclusion of effect-based screening methods into monitoring programmes for estrogens in surface waterbodies would be a valuable complement to chemical analysis.

欧盟2015/495号欧洲决定在水框架指令（WFD）的“监视清单”中包括了三种甾体雌激素，雌酮，17β-雌二醇和17α-乙炔基雌二醇。结果，必须在其环境质量标准水平上对这些物质进行化学监测，这可能具有挑战性。该项目旨在确定可靠的基于效果的方法（EBM），用于筛选内分泌干扰化合物，协调监测和数据解释方法，并为当前的WFD审查流程做出贡献。在整个欧洲收集了水和废水样品，并使用化学分析和EBMs进行了分析。结果表明，17β-雌二醇当量在各方法之间具有可比性，而各方法之间的结果因各个物质的相对效力而异。进一步，衍生的17β-雌二醇当量与LC-MS / MS分析高度相关。这项研究表明，将基于效果的筛选方法纳入地表水体中雌激素的监测程序中，将是化学分析的宝贵补充。