Genotoxicity of Drinking Water from Chao Lake

Genotoxic activity appears to originate primarily from reactions of chlorine with humic substances in the source waters. Comparisons of extracts of settled versus chlorinated water have confirmed that chlorinating during water treatment produces mutagenic activity in the mutagenicity tests. Present work on XAD-2 extracts of raw, chlorinated (treated), and settled water from the Chao Lake region of China has involved a battery of mutagenicity assays for various genetic endpoints: the Salmonella test, the sister-chromatid exchange (SCE) induction in Chinese hamster lung (CHL) cells, and the micronucleus (MN) induction in the peripheral blood erythrocytes of silver carp. Extracts of raw and treated water but not the settled water are mutagenic in the Salmonella assay. On the other hand, extracts of three water samples show activity in the SCE and MN assays, especially the raw and treated water. These data show that contamination and chlorinating contribute mutagens to drinking water and suggest that the mammalian assays may be more sensitive for detecting mutagenicity in aquatic environment than the Salmonella test.