Use of bioassay methods to evaluate mutagenicity of ambient air collected near a municipal waste combustor

Journal Article · Wed Nov 01 04:00:00 EST 1989 · Journal of the Air and Waste Management Association; (USA)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1080/08940630.1989.10466636· OSTI ID:6799699

Watts, R; Fitzgerald, B; Heil, G; Garabedian, H; Williams, R; Warren, S; Fradkin, L; Lewtas, J ^[1]

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1. Environmental Protection Agency, Research Triangle Park, NC (USA)

An ambient air sampling study was conducted around a municipal waste combustor; a primary goal was to develop procedures and methods to evaluate the emissions of organic mutagens resulting from incomplete combustion of municipal waste. The products of incomplete combustion from incineration include complex mixtures of organics, particularly polycyclic aromatic compounds, which are present after atmospheric dilution and cooling in emissions as semi-volatile or particle bound organic compounds. Combustion emissions are generally recognized as a potential cancer risk since they contain many carcinogenic and mutagenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Analyzing such a complex mixture for the presence of even a few selected chemicals is difficult and provides risk information on only a fraction of the chemicals present. Bioassay methods, however, may be directly applied to evaluate the mutagenic and potential carcinogenic activity of the complex organics from combustion emissions. The Salmonella (Ames) assay was used to determine the mutagenicity associated with particles from ambient air collected near a municipal waste combustor. Dose-response data was generated, and mutagenicity concentrations were calculated to demonstrate the utility of bioassay in assessing the potential impact of emissions from municipal waste combustion. This phase of study quantified mutagenicity concentrations in ambient air but did not detect organic mutagens that could be attributed to incinerator emissions.

• OSTI ID: 6799699
• Journal Information: Journal of the Air and Waste Management Association; (USA), Journal Name: Journal of the Air and Waste Management Association; (USA) Vol. 39:11; ISSN JAWAE; ISSN 1047-3289
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

54 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES
540120* -- Environment
Atmospheric-- Chemicals Monitoring & Transport-- (1990-)
560300 -- Chemicals Metabolism & Toxicology
63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.
AROMATICS
BACTERIA
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
COMBUSTION
DISPERSIONS
DOSE-RESPONSE RELATIONSHIPS
HYDROCARBONS
INCINERATORS
MICROORGANISMS
MIXTURES
MUNICIPAL WASTES
MUTAGEN SCREENING
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
OXIDATION
POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS
SALMONELLA
SCREENING
THERMOCHEMICAL PROCESSES
WASTES