title: The mutagenic potentials of tap water samples in Shanghai.
abstract: The tap water samples were collected from the users' ends in several areas of Shanghai, which is located in Taihu Lake basin, Eastern China. Source water samples were also collected from two municipal source water facilities at the same time. Samples were assayed by three different short-term mutagenicity test systems: Salmonella/microsome assay (Ames test), the Arabinose resistance test (Ara test) and the SOS/umu test. The data showed that two source water samples did not display direct mutagenic potentials. Two tap water samples from city north, which were directly from Yangtze River, were also not mutagenic. Water samples from city south and middle which used source water originating from Taihu Lake were proved to be contaminated with mutagenic potentials by three different assay techniques. The boiled water displayed an even stronger mutagenic potential compared to its original tap water. The molecular mechanism of mutagenicity was associated with a reading frame-shifting potential. GC-MS analysis of tap water extracts from city middle and corresponding source water was compared. Qualitatively similar spectra were observed except for the peaks of three chlorinated aromatic hydrocarbon compounds, which existed only in the tap water. Since the water source has been polluted, raw water was heavily chlorinated in order to sterilize. More toxic compounds, including mutagens, might form during the multi-chlorination. Caution about the possibility of elevated cancer risks in the population that consumes heavily chlorinated water should be kept in mind. A cohort study in the residents of Shanghai is required.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Plant Physiology and Ecology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 225 Chongqing Road (S.), Shanghai 200025, China.
authors.forename: Lei
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: Jian-Yong
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Guo-Fang
authors.initials: GF
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Jian-Hua
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: Johannes
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Westendorf
authors.forename: Heinrich
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Huehnerfuss
mesh_terms: D001089:Arabinose / Q000494:pharmacology; D002681:China; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D009152:Mutagenicity Tests / Q000379:methods; D009153:Mutagens / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000633:toxicity*; D009930:Organic Chemicals / Q000032:analysis; D012486:Salmonella typhimurium / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis* / Q000633:toxicity*; D014881:Water Supply / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D009153:Mutagens; D009930:Organic Chemicals; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D001089:Arabinose