title: Soil contamination detected using bacterial and plant mutagenicity tests and chemical analyses.
abstract: Soil contaminants are common in industrialized countries, causing widespread contamination directly of soil and indirectly of ground water and food. Among these pollutants particular attention should be paid to soil mutagens and carcinogens due to their potentially hazardous effects on animal populations and human health. The aim of this research was to evaluate the genotoxicity of contaminated soils by means of an integrated chemical/biological approach, using a short-term bacterial mutagenicity test (Ames test), a plant genotoxicity test (Tradescantia/micronucleus test), and chemical analyses. Soil samples were collected in a highly industrialized area in the Lombardy region, in Northern Italy. Soil samples were extracted with water or with organic solvents. Water extracts of soil samples were tested using the Tradescantia genotoxicity test and organic solvent extracts were analyzed for their polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) concentrations and for their mutagenicity with the Ames test. Heavy metal concentrations were also studied. Some soil samples showed mutagenic activity with the Ames test and clastogenicity with the Tradescantia/micronucleus test. The same soils showed high concentrations of genotoxic PAH and heavy metals.
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental and Applied Medicine, University of Brescia, I-25123 Brescia, Italy. monarca@master.cci.unibs.it
authors.forename: Silvano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Monarca
authors.forename: Donatella
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Feretti
authors.forename: Ilaria
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Zerbini
authors.forename: Adriana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Alberti
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zani
authors.forename: Sergio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Resola
authors.forename: Umberto
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Gelatti
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Nardi
mesh_terms: D007558:Italy; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000032:analysis* / Q000633:toxicity; D009152:Mutagenicity Tests; D009153:Mutagens / Q000032:analysis* / Q000633:toxicity; D010944:Plants / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics*; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / Q000032:analysis* / Q000633:toxicity; D012486:Salmonella typhimurium / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics*; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis* / Q000633:toxicity
chemical_list: D019216:Metals, Heavy; D009153:Mutagens; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons; D012989:Soil Pollutants