Initial testing completed for using bioanalytical assays to screen for CECs

SCCWRP and its partners have shown in a pair of initial studies that bioanalytical screening tools have the potential to be used to screen receiving waters across California for CECs.

The studies were conducted on a range of Southern California waterways, including inland freshwater streams and rivers dominated by effluent from wastewater treatment plants, and in the Russian River, a watershed north of San Francisco that receives agricultural runoff.

The bioassay results showed strong agreement with traditional chemistry-based analyses of the receiving water samples, indicating that this commercially available, cell-based technology has the potential to be useful as a CEC screening tool. Even in water samples with minimal CEC impacts, the bioassays were not prone to high noise levels – an important finding given that sensitivity is often a concern with new methods.

The bioassay screenings found that the potential for endocrine-disrupting impacts, such as impaired reproduction in fish, is moderate to low across the watersheds examined.