Correlation between meteorological conditions and mutagenicity of airborne particulate samples in a tropical monsoon climate area from Kaohsiung City, Taiwan.
Kaohsiung is a city of 1.5 million located in the southern part of Taiwan. It has a serious air pollution problem mainly attributable to much industrial and commercial activity. In order to estimate the effects of traffic, season, and meteorological conditions on the mutagenicity of Kaohsiung City's urban ambient particulate matter, 624 airborne particulate samples were collected on a weekly basis from 12 locations for an entire year. The mutagenic potential of acetone extracts of air samples was evaluated by the Salmonella/microsomal test with S. typhimurium TA98 in the presence and absence of S9 mixtures. The air samples from November 1990 showed the highest direct and indirect mutagenicity among the 12 months, whereas those from June and July 1991 had the lowest direct and indirect mutagenic activity, respectively. The mutagenicity showed a good correlation with amounts of the acetone extractable matter of airborne particulates. The meteorological conditions, monthly mean precipitation, and wind speed also showed a good correspondence with mutagenicity. Wind direction and temperature had a moderate relationship. The major mutagenic fractions of air samples that had the highest mutagenic activity in a month were purified using Sephadex LH-20 column chromatography, and the contents of PAHs, 1-NP, and DNPs were analyzed by HPLC. The characteristic concentration ratios of PAHs indicated that, for the main pollution sources of airborne particulates from Kaohsiung city, the mobile sources were more important than the stationary ones. The total amounts of 1-NP and DNPs in airborne particulates seemed to correspond to their mutagenicity. Although the total amounts of 1-NP and DNPs in the air samples correlated with their mutagenicity, the major mutagenic chemicals in the airborne particulate samples from Kaohsiung City need further investigation.
Lee
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Environmental Toxicological Center, Chung Shan Medical and Dental College, Taichung, Taiwan, Republic of China.
Su
S Y
SY
Liu
K S
KS
Chou
M C
MC
D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis* / Q000633:toxicity; D000397:Air Pollution / Q000032:analysis*; D001711:Biotransformation; D003577:Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme System / Q000378:metabolism; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D016014:Linear Models; D008685:Meteorological Concepts; D008862:Microsomes, Liver / Q000201:enzymology; D009152:Mutagenicity Tests; D009153:Mutagens / Q000032:analysis*; D009574:Nitro Compounds / Q000032:analysis; D011083:Polycyclic Compounds / Q000032:analysis; D011721:Pyrenes / Q000032:analysis; D011891:Rain; D012486:Salmonella typhimurium / Q000187:drug effects; D012621:Seasons; D013624:Taiwan; D013696:Temperature; D014919:Wind
D000393:Air Pollutants; D009153:Mutagens; D009574:Nitro Compounds; D011083:Polycyclic Compounds; D011721:Pyrenes; D003577:Cytochrome P-450 Enzyme System; C032668:1-nitropyrene