Endocrine Disruption Bioassay Application for Screening of Industrial Wastewater Treatment Plant Effluents

Abstract

Industrial wastewater treatment plant effluents may contain trace concentrations of endocrine-disrupting compounds capable of interfering with hormonal regulation in aquatic organisms and potentially affecting human health through environmental exposure. Conventional physicochemical monitoring methods often fail to fully assess the biological activity and combined effects of these contaminants in treated wastewater. The present study investigates the application of endocrine disruption bioassays for screening industrial wastewater treatment plant effluents under varying operational and environmental conditions. The research focuses on evaluating estrogenic and endocrine-related biological responses, toxicity characterization, and the effectiveness of bioassay-based monitoring approaches for wastewater quality assessment. Experimental analysis was conducted using biological screening methods to examine the influence of industrial effluent composition, treatment efficiency, organic contaminant concentration, and exposure duration on endocrine-disrupting activity and ecological risk potential. Results demonstrate that bioassay techniques effectively detect hormonally active substances and provide integrated assessment of cumulative biological effects associated with treated industrial effluents. The study further reveals that certain industrial discharge streams exhibit residual endocrine activity even after conventional wastewater treatment processes, indicating incomplete removal of biologically active contaminants. Comparative assessment with standard chemical analytical methods confirms the advantages of bioassay-based screening, including improved sensitivity to biologically relevant effects and enhanced capability for evaluating mixture toxicity.