skip to main content
OSTI.GOV title logo U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Title: Genotoxic effects of sunlight-activated waste waters

Conference ·
OSTI ID:6527409

Natural sunlight induces a genotoxic response in cultured CHO cells pre-treated with shale oil retort process water. Near ultraviolet light (NUV) component of the solar spectrum is the apparent radiation responsible for photoactivation. Cultured human skin fibroblasts are acutely sensitive to the genotoxic effects of photoactivated process water. The mutagenic potential of photoactivated process water in human cells is the same as that witnessed for an equivalent killing dose of the potent skin carcinogen FUV. DNA repair processes are involved in modulating genotoxic effects of this photo-induced process. The exact magnitude of the potential health-related and environmental risks resulting from photoactivation of retort process waters and other oil shale by-products is unassessed at this time. Our demonstration that a significant rate of mutation occurs in cultured human cells exposed to high dilutions of process waters and fluences of NUV comparable to that encountered during nominal exposure to sunlight suggests that such assessment is a prerequisite to minimal risk development of our oil shale resources.

Research Organization:
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
DOE Contract Number:
W-7405-ENG-36
OSTI ID:
6527409
Report Number(s):
LA-UR-81-986; CONF-810357-1
Resource Relation:
Conference: 7. FDA's science symposium on photochemical toxicity, Bethesda, MA, USA, 16 Mar 1981
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

Similar Records

Genotoxic effects of sunlight-activated waste water in cultured mammalian cells
Journal Article · Thu Jul 01 00:00:00 EDT 1982 · JNCI, J. Natl. Cancer Inst.; (United States) · OSTI ID:6527409

Sunlight activation of shale-oil byproducts as measured by genotoxic effects in cultured Chinese hamster cells
Conference · Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1981 · OSTI ID:6527409

Cytotoxic and mutagenic properties of shale oil byproducts. I. Activation of retort process waters with near ultraviolet light
Journal Article · Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 EST 1981 · Environ. Mutagen.; (United States) · OSTI ID:6527409