title: Organic pollutants and ambient severity for the drinking water source of western Taihu Lake.
abstract: Measurement of the organic compounds found in western Taihu Lake and evaluation of the ambient severity (AS) of the water using multimedia environmental goals (MEG) was conducted. The comet assay and the antioxidant enzyme approach were used to test the potential toxicity of water samples on the microalgae Euglena gracilis. Total concentrations of 25 organic pollutants in samples from two sites were 6.700 and 14.655 μg/l, respectively, with a calculated total ambient severity (TAS) of less than 1 and therefore minimal risk to human and ecological health. Organic extracts from the samples at these two sites was found to induce dose-dependent DNA damage on microalgae cells. DNA damage together with changes in superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxidase (POD) activities indicated that the potential pollutant toxicity was far higher at one of the two sites than at the other site. The comet assay combined with the activities of antioxidant enzymes may be of value as a biomarker for presence of organic pollutants in drinking water sources.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, School of the Environment, Nanjing University, Xianlin Campus, 163 Xianlin Avenue, Nanjing, 210046, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xiangyu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Xiaorong
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Shi
authors.forename: Yibin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Cui
authors.forename: Mei
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Rongfei
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Qian
authors.forename: Yue
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Jiang
mesh_terms: D020552:Comet Assay; D005056:Euglena gracilis / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development / Q000378:metabolism; D005618:Fresh Water / Q000737:chemistry*; D009930:Organic Chemicals / Q000032:analysis* / Q000633:toxicity; D009195:Peroxidase / Q000378:metabolism; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase / Q000378:metabolism; D055549:Volatile Organic Compounds / Q000032:analysis / Q000633:toxicity; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000032:analysis* / Q000633:toxicity; D014881:Water Supply / Q000032:analysis* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
chemical_list: D009930:Organic Chemicals; D055549:Volatile Organic Compounds; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D009195:Peroxidase; D013482:Superoxide Dismutase