title: Mutagenicity and genotoxicity of coal fly ash water leachate.
abstract: Fly ash is a by-product of coal-fired electricity generation plants. The prevalent practice of disposal is as slurry of ash and water to storage or ash ponds located near power stations. This has lain to waste thousands of hectares of land all over the world. Since leaching is often the cause of off-site contamination and pathway of introduction into the human environment, a study on the genotoxic effects of fly ash leachate is essential. Leachate prepared from the fly ash sample was analyzed for metal content, and tested for mutagenicity and genotoxicity. Analyses of metals show predominance of the metals-sodium, silicon, potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, manganese, zinc, and sulphate. The Ames Salmonella mutagenicity assay, a short-term bacterial reverse mutation assay, was conducted on two-tester strains of Salmonella typhimurium strains TA97a and TA102. For genotoxicity, the alkaline version of comet assay on fly ash leachate was carried in vitro on human blood cells and in vivo on Nicotiana plants. The leachate was directly mutagenic and induced significant (P<0.05) concentration-dependent increases in DNA damage in whole blood cells, lymphocytes, and in Nicotiana plants. The comet parameters show increases in tail DNA percentage (%), tail length (mum), and olive tail moment (arbitrary units). Our results indicate that leachate from fly ash dumpsites has the genotoxic potential and may lead to adverse effects on vegetation and on the health of exposed human populations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Botany, Centre of Advanced Study in Cell and Chromosome Research, University of Calcutta, 35 Ballygunge Circular Road, Kolkata 700 019, India.
authors.forename: Rajarshi
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Chakraborty
authors.forename: Anita
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mukherjee
mesh_terms: D000395:Air Pollutants, Occupational / Q000737:chemistry / Q000633:toxicity*; D002244:Carbon / Q000737:chemistry / Q000633:toxicity*; D003031:Coal; D060729:Coal Ash; D004249:DNA Damage; D018744:DNA, Plant / Q000187:drug effects; D006801:Humans; D007220:Industrial Waste; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects; D008670:Metals / Q000032:analysis; D009152:Mutagenicity Tests; D052638:Particulate Matter / Q000737:chemistry / Q000633:toxicity*; D012037:Refuse Disposal; D012486:Salmonella typhimurium / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics; D014026:Nicotiana / Q000187:drug effects / Q000235:genetics
chemical_list: D000395:Air Pollutants, Occupational; D003031:Coal; D060729:Coal Ash; D018744:DNA, Plant; D007220:Industrial Waste; D008670:Metals; D052638:Particulate Matter; D002244:Carbon