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Title: Mutagenicity of the fractionated organic emissions from diesel, cigarette smoke condensate, coke oven, and roofing tar in the Ames assay

Journal Article · · Environ. Mutagen.; (United States)

Mobile and stationary combustion sources emit particle-bound organics that, after extraction, are mutagenic to Salmonella typhimurium. In this study, the organic emissions from diesel, cigarette smoke condensate (CSC), coke oven, and roofing tar were fractionated and compared for mutagenicity in the Ames assay. This study demonstrated major differences in the distribution of mutagenicity among the four emission sources. Within each source, the relative mutagenicity of each fraction was significantly different in the presence and absence of an exogenous metabolic activation. In the diesel sample, over 90% of the mutagenic activity is located in the aromatic and polar neutral (PN) fractions. Most of the mutagenicity of the coke oven main sample was found in the organic base (BASE) and PN fractions, which contained aromatic amines and nitrogen heterocycles. The CSC sample also has a high percentage of the mutagenic activity in the BASE fraction. The roofing tar sample, which was not mutagenic in the absence of metabolic activation, contained several components that were very mutagenic after fractionation. Although the specific mutagens in these different sources are not identical, they all cause frameshift mutations and appear to be compounds that could be classified as polycyclic organic matter.

Research Organization:
Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC
OSTI ID:
6240476
Journal Information:
Environ. Mutagen.; (United States), Vol. 7:4
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English