HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Figures Only Full Text Free Full Text (PDF) Free Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Related articles in JEQ Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (9) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Hakk, H. Articles by Larsen, G. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Hakk, H. Articles by Larsen, G. Agricola Articles by Hakk, H. Articles by Larsen, G. Related Collections Carbon Sequestration Bioremediation and Biodegradation Organic Compounds Animal Waste

TECHNICAL REPORTS

Waste Management

Decrease in Water-Soluble 17ß-Estradiol and Testosterone in Composted Poultry Manure with Time

^a USDA-ARS, Biosciences Research Laboratory, Fargo, ND 58105
^b USDA-ARS, Soil Microbial Systems Laboratory, Beltsville, MD 20705

^* Corresponding author (hakkh{at}fargo.ars.usda.gov)

Received for publication April 26, 2004. Little attention has been paid to the environmental fate of the hormones 17ß-estradiol and testosterone excreted in animal waste. Land application of manure has a considerable potential to affect the environment with these endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs). Composting is known to decompose organic matter to a stable, humus-like material. The goal of the present study was to quantitatively assess levels of water-soluble 17ß-estradiol and testosterone in composting chicken manure with time. Chicken layer manure was mixed with hay, straw, decomposed leaves, and starter compost, adjusted to approximately 60% moisture, and placed into a windrow. A clay-amended windrow was also prepared. Windrows were turned weekly, and temperature, oxygen, and CO₂ in the composting mass were monitored for either 133 or 139 d. Commercial enzyme immunoassay kits were used to quantitate the levels of 17ß-estradiol and testosterone in aqueous sample extracts. Water-soluble quantities of both hormones diminished during composting. The decrease in 17ß-estradiol followed first-order kinetics, with a rate constant k = –0.010/d. Testosterone levels declined at a slightly higher rate than 17ß-estradiol (i.e., k = –0.015/d). Both hormones could still be measured in aqueous extracts of compost sampled at the conclusion of composting. The decline in water-soluble 17ß-estradiol and testosterone in extracts of clay-amended compost was not statistically different from normal compost. These data suggest that composting may be an environmentally friendly technology suitable for reducing, but not eliminating, the concentrations of these endocrine disrupting hormones at concentrated animal operation facilities.

Abbreviations: EDC, endocrine disrupting compound • EIA, enzyme immunoassay

Related articles in JEQ:

This Issue in Journal of Environmental Quality

JEQ 2005 34: ix. [Full Text]  

This article has been cited by other articles:

				H. Dolliver, S. Gupta, and S. Noll Antibiotic Degradation during Manure Composting J. Environ. Qual., May 1, 2008; 37(3): 1245 - 1253. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. N. J. Hemmings and P. G. Hartel Mineralization of Hormones in Breeder and Broiler Litters at Different Water Potentials and Temperatures J. Environ. Qual., April 3, 2006; 35(3): 701 - 706. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]