Analysis of endocrine disrupting compounds, pharmaceuticals and personal care products in sewage sludge by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry

Endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) and pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) have been acknowledged as emerging pollutants due to widespread contamination in environment. A rapid and reliable analytical method, based on ultrasonic extraction, clean up on Envi-carb cartridge, derivatized with N-tert-butyldimethylsilyl-N-methyltrifluoroacetamide (MTBSTFA), and analyzed by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS), was developed for determination of 4 EDCs (bisphenol A, estrone, nonylphenol and octylphenol) and 10 PPCPs (acetylsalicylic acid, carbamazepine, clofibric acid, diclofenac, gemfibrozil, ibuprofen, ketoprofen, naproxen, paracetamol and triclosan) in sewage sludge. Mean recoveries of the target analytes, at different spike levels (40, 300 and 2000 ng/g), ranged from 57.9% to 103.1%. Relative standard deviations (RSDs) were in the range of 1.3–9.5% at different spiked levels. The limit of quantification (LOQ) ranged from 4.7 to 39 ng/g. The method was applied to sewage sludge samples from sewage treatment plants (STPs) in southern California. High concentrations of PPCPs and EDCs were found in sewage sludge, ranging from 1502 to 5327 ng/g dry weight. Appropriate disposal of sewage sludge was required to avoid secondary contamination.