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U.S. Department of Energy
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Environmental tobacco smoke: mutagenic emission rates and their relationship to other emission factors

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:6419396

The objective of this study was to evaluate the emission rates and exposure concentrations of mutagens, nicotine, and particles from cigarettes. Studies were conducted under controlled laboratory and chamber conditions as well as in personal residences. The mutagenicity of environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) was evaluated in three bioassays using two strains of Salmonella typhimurium. Strain TA98 was used in the standard plate-incorporation and microsuspension histidine reversion assays; and strain TM677 in a microsuspension forward mutation assay. The mutagenicity, expressed either per Ug particle or per Ug nicotine, appeared to be a relatively constant factor that did not vary significantly between various cigarette brands. These data are being used to model the emissions of mutagens to predict mutagenic exposure concentrations under various conditions.

Research Organization:
Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC (USA). Health Effects Research Lab.
OSTI ID:
6419396
Report Number(s):
PB-87-191516/XAB; EPA-600/D-87/146
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English