Human cell mutagenicity and environmental distribution of molecular weight 302 PAH
- Tufts Univ., Medford, MA (United States)
- Massachusetts Inst. of Tech., Cambridge, MA (United States)
Many mutagenic and carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) are ubiquitous in the environment. Sixteen common PAH are regulated by the EPA including benzo[a]pyrene, a potent mutagen, and 15 other compounds ranging in molecular weight (mw) from 128 to 278. In performing research to identify the most important human mutagens in urban aerosols, it was found that mw 302 PAH isomers are among the most potent mutagens present. Using HPLC-UV and GC-MS analytical techniques, five mw 302 PAH isomers, including naphtho[1,2-k]fluoranthene, dibenzo[b,k]fluoranthene, naphtho[2,1-a]pyrene, dibenzo[a,e]pyrene, and naphtho[2,3-b]fluoranthene, were identified in a Washington DC aerosol. The mutagenic potency series for these compounds expressed as the ratio of the minimum mutagenic concentration of each compound to that of B[a]P is as follows: N[2,1-a]P > DB[ae]P > DB[bk]FL > N[1,2-k]FL > N[2,3-b]FL. The most abundant isomers in the Washington aerosol are N[1,2-k]FL and DB[bk]FL. Similar patterns of isomers were found in sediment samples from Europe and the US Boston aerosol samples, coal soot from China and woodstove soot. These results indicate that mw 302 PAH isomers are ubiquitous and potent environmental mutagens which derive largely from combustion emissions. The finding that these compounds are also present in sediment samples indicates that they are stable in the environment, and therefore could represent a long-term threat to human and environmental health.
- OSTI ID:
- 452067
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-961149--
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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