Abstract
Bisphenol A (BPA) is used as the primary raw material for polycarbonate plastics and epoxy resins worldwide. Recently, BPA has been reported as a weakly estrogenic chemical and detected widely in aquatic environments in Japan. Various chemical oxidation processes were examined with the aim of reducing the estrogenic activity of BPA. The results of our examination showed that O3 and O3/H2O2 processes were very effective in reducing BPA and its estrogenic activity. On the other hand, TOC was not decreased markedly by O3 and O3/H2O2 processes. The structure of BPA after O3 oxidation was examined by IR analysis. These results showed that aromatic ring of BPA was degraded and the resulting intermediate has no estrogenic activity.
It was also investigated whether the O3 process was effective in reducing the estrogenic activity of BPA in river water. The Ames mutagenicity of the ozonation sample was also assayed. The test result showed that the Ames mutagenicity of BPA was not influenced by the O3 process. These results indicated that the O3 process was useful in reducing estrogenic activity of BPA in waste water and aquatic environments.
