Both estrogens and nonylphenols were analyzed as described elsewhere [33 (link),34 (link)]. Briefly, for estrogens 1-L samples of settled final effluent were filtered through 1.2 μm GF/C filter paper (VWR, Lutterworth, UK); for nonylphenols, samples (250 mL of final effluent or 100 mL of settled sewage) were filtered through 1.2 μm GF/C filter paper (VWR, Lutterworth, UK). In both cases, filtrates were put through solid phase extraction cartridges and detection and quantification of target analytes were done by UPLC-MS/MS (Waters Acquity UPLC, Waters, Manchester, UK). The instrument was operated under multiple reaction monitoring (MRM) mode; fragmentation reactions and instrumental parameters are included in the supporting information.
+ Open protocol