In response to environmental demands, in recent years most large factories have begun to treat their effluent, and many factories use the treated effluent to water flowers or raise fish. But when effluent containing alkylphenols undergoes microbiological secondary treatment, as if by magic it comes out containing the environmental hormones nonylphenols.
在環保的要求下，近年來大型工廠多半已進行污水處理，許多工廠更將經過處理的污水用來澆花、養魚，但含有烷基酚的污水在經過二級微生物處理後，卻搖身一變為環境荷爾蒙「壬基苯酚」。