Degradation of coprostanol in an experimental system

Coprostanol has been applied as a chemical sewage indicator in the aquatic environment but there is little evidence of its persistence. This paper describes experiments to measure the decay rate of coprostanol in aquatic systems involving sludges and artificial sediments. Coprostanol in sludges decayed to <15% of initial levels after 30 days whilst in sediments the levels remained essentially unchanged after 54 days. Coprostanol levels in marine sediments from South Africa are also discussed.