ARS | Publication request: ESTROGENIC ACTIVITY OF SWINE WASTEWATER TREATED BY A LAGOON CONSTRUCTED WETLAND SYSTEM.

Submitted to: SETAC Conference
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: June 10, 2005
Publication Date: November 13, 2005
Citation: Shappell, N.W., Billey, L.O., Poach, M.E., Matheny, T.A., Reddy, G.B., Hunt, P.G. 2005. Estrogenic activity of swine wastewater treated by a lagoon constructed wetland system. SETAC North American 26th Annual Conference, Baltimore, MD, Nov. 13-17, 2005.

Technical Abstract: The estrogenic activity in livestock waste and treated wastewater effluents is of increased interest because of intense modern livestock production practices. We determined estrogen activity (in vitro E-screen assay) along with Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN) for swine wastewater as it was sequentially treated by a two stage anaerobic lagoon and a constructed wetland system. The wetlands were marsh-pond-marsh in design. Samples were collected from the manure pit through the wetland outlet in April, July, and November, 2004. Nitrogen treatment was similar to that reported for other treatment wetland systems. The wetlands were loaded with lagoon effluent at rates of 10 to 20 kg N ha-1d-1, and the N removal rates were 57 to 89%. However, the N treatment did not track estrogenic activity. Estrogenic activity of water from the manure pit was ~900 pM estradiol equivalents (E2 Eq) in both April and July. The E2 Eqs dropped dramatically in the primary lagoons to 1% of pit values (12 to 14 pM). Furthermore, the estrogenic activity of lagoons wastewater was so low as it entered the wetlands in the April and July samples (~3 pM E2 Eq) that little to no change in activity was found across the wetlands. In the cooler temperatures of November, the E2 Eq entering the wetlands was ~100 pM, yet ~94% of the activity was removed by the wetlands, while the TKN was reduced by ~75% for wetlands. These data indicate that wetlands are useful in reducing both N and estrogenic activity from animal waste.