ENDOCRINE DISRUPTING COMPOUND LEVELS OF THE KISHWAUKEE RIVER NEAR NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY

Endocrine disrupting compounds (EDC) are quickly becoming an area of intensifying research across many scientific fields. EDCs come from non-point sources in most cases, but this research aims to narrow the source of at least a portion of the EDC levels present in the Kishwaukee River to the community of students and faculty at Northern Illinois University in Dekalb, Illinois. Our working hypothesis is that detectable levels of EDCs in the effluent of a wastewater treatment place will fluctuate from relatively higher levels during the fall and spring semesters to relatively low levels during winter vacation. We tested for four hormonal compounds that are typically found in birth control medication: 17a-estradiol, 17b-estradiol, estrone, and estriol. Water samples were collected from three sites along the Kishwaukee River which included an upstream (uncontaminated) sample, in the effluent, and downstream. We expect to find a detectable fluctuation from lower levels during vacation to higher levels when school is in session. This would point to the students as being a point source of hormones in the water.