Mutagenic activity of river water from a river near textile industrial complex in Korea

The geochemistry and isotopic compositions of the Nakdong River, Korea: weathering and anthropogenic effects

The Nakdong River is the longest river in South Korea, and flows through various geological terrains with different land use characteristics; therefore, the geochemistry of its water is expected to be influenced by many factors. In this work, the geochemical characteristics of the Nakdong River were examined, and its chemical compositions, δD, δ¹⁸O, and δ¹³C_DIC values, and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios were determined to investigate the geological and anthropogenic effects on the geochemistry of the Nakdong River water. The obtained concentrations of major ions were strongly affected by both the anthropogenic activity and weathering of the rocks. With increasing the flow distance, the ion concentrations slightly increased; and after the inflow of the Kumho River, which was the largest tributary running through Daegu (the fourth largest city in South Korea), the concentrations of Na and SO₄ ions abruptly increased and decreased again, suggesting the existence of strong anthropogenic effects caused by sewage treatment plants and dyeing industrial complex. Other activities such as agricultural ones also increased the NO₃ concentration. In July, the high precipitation level from tropical cyclones and downpours decreased the ion concentrations as well as the δD and δ¹⁸O values. The δ¹³C_DIC magnitudes showed that the dissolved inorganic carbon mainly originated from mineral weathering upstream, while the oxidation of soil organic materials influenced by agricultural activity became more important downstream. The ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios revealed that in the upstream regions, the weathering of granite and gneiss complex was dominant, while in the downstream regions, the weathering of sedimentary rocks became more important. The weathering and anthropogenic effects on the river water chemistry were also demonstrated using statistical analysis, which revealed that the water geochemistry was mostly influenced by the anthropogenic sources, including industrial complex, represented by Na, Cl, and SO₄. The obtained results show that, as compared to the geochemistry of the Han River (which is also a major river in Korea), the geochemistry of the Nakdong River is more influenced by anthropogenic activities (including agriculture and the industrial complex) due to the different land use.

Mutagenicity, genotoxicity, and estrogenic activity of river porewaters

We investigated mutagenicity, genotoxicity, and estrogenic activity in the porewaters of two river basins in southern Italy that had different features. Three samples from each site were collected in different seasons from 7 sites for a total of 21 samples. Mutagenicity was measured with the Ames test with and without metabolic activation (S9) using Salmonella typhimurium TA98 and TA100 strains. Genotoxicity was measured with two tests: one involved a chromophore that detected DNA damage in Escherichia coli PQ37 (SOS chromotest), and the other measured micronuclei formation in the root cells of Vicia faba. Estrogenic activity was measured with a yeast-based estrogen receptor assay and an MCF-7 cell-based, estrogen-sensitive proliferation assay. We also applied chemical analyses to detect alkylphenols, pesticides, natural and synthetic hormones, and heavy metals. The porewaters of both river sediments showed mutagenic/genotoxic activity on V. faba test and Ames test, the latter both with and without S9 liver fraction. The SOS chromotest without metabolic activation was not sufficiently sensitive to detect genotoxicity of the porewaters, but the SOS DNA repair system in E. coli PQ37 was activated in the presence of S9 mix. Good correlations were found between mutagenicity/genotoxicity and the concentration of cadmium and between estrogenic activity and the presence of copper. This study assessed the chemical concentrations of some bioavailable pollutants in porewater and detected the overall effects of multiple pollutants that contributed to mutagenicity, genotoxicity, and estrogenic activity of these two basin porewaters, thus increasing our understanding of the environmental consequences of polluted aquatic ecosystems.

Evaluation of mutagenicity of wastewater in the vicinity of pesticide industry

Pesticide industrial wastewater samples were taken from the Chinhat industrial area nearby Lucknow city, India. GC-MS analysis revealed the presence of pesticides lindane, α-endosulfan, β-endosulfan, chlorpyriphos, monocrotophos, dimethoate and malathion. A pesticide mixture and wastewater extracts were studied to determine the mutagenicity by Ames Salmonella test, survival of DNA repair defective E. coli K-12 mutants and bacteriophage λ systems. Wastewater samples were concentrated with XAD-resins as an adsorbent and liquid-liquid extraction procedure. The XAD concentrated sample exhibited maximum mutagenic activity in comparison to liquid-liquid extracted sample. TA98 strain was the most responsive strain for both test samples with (+S9) and without (-S9) metabolic activation, while other strains exhibited weak response. A significant decline of DNA repair defective E. coli K-12 mutants, bacteriophage λ was observed with test samples in the survival. The intracellular damage was highest when treated with XAD concentrated sample as compared to liquid-liquid extract after 6h treatment.

Hepatic gene expression analysis of mice exposed to raw water from Meiliang Bay, Lake Taihu, China

Lake water is a micro-polluted water system, and characterization of its toxicity remains difficult. Microarray-based determination of altered gene expression might be an alterative approach. We chose raw water from Meiliang Bay, Lake Taihu, China as the target water. Male mice were exposed to the lake water for 90 days. Total hepatic RNA was applied to interrogate the Affymetrix Mouse Genome 430A 2.0 array. Gene ontology analysis, pathway analysis and gene network analysis were used to identify biological effects of differently expressed genes. The results showed that the expressions of 170 genes were altered. Nine biological processes and nine biological pathways were significantly perturbed (P ≤ 0.01), mainly linked to the regulation of cell processes, DNA repair, chromatin modification, oxidative reduction and carbohydrate metabolism. Important genes, such as Prkca, Pik3r1, Fgfr1 and Zbtb16, were identified by gene network analysis. This study provided excellent insights into early toxicological effects related to raw Lake Taihu water, and illustrated that the toxicogenomic approach might be a useful tool to evaluate potential environmental health effects of raw lake water.

Mutagenicity and genotoxicity of tannery effluents used for irrigation at Kanpur, India

The tannery effluents at Kanpur (India) have been in use for irrigation since last many years, polluting soil directly while ground water and food crops indirectly. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometric analysis of the test samples revealed the presence of organic compounds including diisooctyl phthalate, phenyl N-methylcarbamate, dibutyl phthalate, bis 2-methoxyethyl phthalate, and higher alkanes. Tannery effluent extracts were prepared using XAD-4/8 resins, dichloromethane, chloroform, and hexane and tested with Ames Salmonella test and DNA repair-defective Escherichia coli K-12 mutants. In the presence of XAD-concentrated tannery effluent, TA98 found to be the most sensitive strain in terms of mutagenic index followed by TA97a whereas in terms of mutagenic potential TA102 was most responsive. The extracts were also found genotoxic as determined in terms of survival of E. coli K-12 mutants, suggesting the presence of DNA damaging compounds in the tannery effluents. In the light of results, precautious use of tannery effluents for irrigation is suggested.

The relationship between whole effluent toxicity (WET) and chemical-based effluent quality assessment in Vojvodina (Serbia)

The relationship between whole effluent toxicity (WET) and chemical-based effluent quality assessment across a range of effluent types was examined for the first time in Serbia. WET was determined by Daphnia magna acute tests, while chemical-based toxicity was taken as theoretical for concentrations of priority chemicals and effluent quality assessment based on the valid Serbian regulations. A poor correlation was found between WET and chemical-based effluent quality assessment: positive toxicity tests were found, in general, in cases where samples satisfied the requirements of mandatory effluent monitoring. Statistically insignificant correlation between the predicted and observed toxicity indicated that the presence of priority substances accounted to the overall toxicity only to a certain degree, most probably due to a rather short list of priority pollutants regularly analysed in effluents. Current monitoring requirements neglect hazards that derive from potentially present toxicants and unpredictable toxicity of complex mixtures, which led to poor correlation between the WET and chemical-based results in this study.