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At low parts per trillion (ppt), EE2 induces feminisation of male fish, diminishing reproductive success and causing fish population collapse. Intended water quality standards for EE2 set a much needed global precedent. Ozone and activated carbon provide effective wastewater treatments, but their energy intensities and capital\/operating costs are formidable barriers to adoption. Here we describe the technical and environmental performance of a fast- developing contender for mitigation of EE2 contamination of wastewater based upon small- molecule, full-functional peroxidase enzyme replicas called \u201cTAML activators\u201d. From neutral to basic pH, TAML activators with H<jats:sub>2<\/jats:sub>O<jats:sub>2<\/jats:sub> efficiently degrade EE2 in pure lab water, municipal effluents and EE2-spiked synthetic urine. TAML\/H<jats:sub>2<\/jats:sub>O<jats:sub>2<\/jats:sub> treatment curtails estrogenicity <jats:italic>in vitro<\/jats:italic> and substantially diminishes fish feminization <jats:italic>in vivo<\/jats:italic>. Our results provide a starting point for a future process in which tens of thousands of tonnes of wastewater could be treated per kilogram of catalyst. We suggest TAML\/H<jats:sub>2<\/jats:sub>O<jats:sub>2<\/jats:sub> is a worthy candidate for exploration as an environmentally compatible, versatile, method for removing EE2 and other pharmaceuticals from municipal wastewaters.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1038\/srep10511","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2015,6,12]],"date-time":"2015-06-12T12:20:10Z","timestamp":1434111610000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":49,"title":["Removal of ecotoxicity of 17\u03b1-ethinylestradiol using TAML\/peroxide water treatment"],"prefix":"10.1038","volume":"5","author":[{"given":"Matthew R.","family":"Mills","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Karla","family":"Arias-Salazar","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Alice","family":"Baynes","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Longzhu Q.","family":"Shen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"John","family":"Churchley","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Nicola","family":"Beresford","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Chakicherla","family":"Gayathri","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Roberto R.","family":"Gil","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Rakesh","family":"Kanda","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Susan","family":"Jobling","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Terrence J.","family":"Collins","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2015,6,12]]},"reference":[{"key":"BFsrep10511_CR1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Arnold, K.E., Brown, A.R., Ankley, G.T., Sumpter, J.P. Medicating the environment: assessing risks of pharmaceuticals to wildlife and ecosystems. Philos. Trans. R. Soc. B. 369, 10.1098\/rstb.2013.0569 (2014).","DOI":"10.1098\/rstb.2013.0569"},{"key":"BFsrep10511_CR2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1396","DOI":"10.1002\/etc.1825","volume":"31","author":"DJ Caldwell","year":"2012","unstructured":"Caldwell, D.J., Mastrocco, F., Anderson, P.D., L\u00e4nge, R., Sumpter, J.P. Predicted-no-effect concentrations for the steroid estrogens estrone, 17\u03b2-estradiol, estriol and 17\u03b1-ethinylestradiol. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 31, 1396\u20131406 (2012).","journal-title":"Environ. Toxicol. Chem."},{"key":"BFsrep10511_CR3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"12297","DOI":"10.1021\/es4030035","volume":"47","author":"AC Johnson","year":"2014","unstructured":"Johnson, A.C., Dumont, E., Williams, R.J., Oldenkamp, R., Cisowska, I. and Sumpter, J.P. 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