title: Paving asphalt products exhibit a lack of carcinogenic and mutagenic activity.
abstract: A paving asphalt and a vacuum residuum (derived from crude oil by atmospheric and subsequent vacuum distillation and used as a blend stock for asphalt) were tested in skin carcinogenesis assays in mice and in optimized Ames assays for mutagenic activity. In the skin cancer tests, each substance was applied twice weekly for 104 weeks to the clipped backs of groups of 50 male C3H mice. Neither the paving asphalt nor the vacuum residuum (30% weight/volume and 75% weight/weight in US Pharmacopeia mineral oil, respectively) produced any tumors. The positive control benzo[a]pyrene (0.05% w/v in toluene) induced tumors in 46 of 50 mice, demonstrating the effectiveness of the test method. Salmonella typhimurium tester strain TA98 was used in the optimized Ames assay to evaluate mutagenic potential. Dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) extractions of the substances were not mutagenic when tested up to toxic limits. Thus, under the conditions of these studies, neither the paving asphalt nor the vacuum residuum was carcinogenic or mutagenic.
authors: ExxonMobil Biomedical Sciences, Inc, Annandale, NJ 08801, USA. katy.o.goyak@exxonmobil.com
authors: Katy O
authors: KO
authors: Goyak
authors: Richard H
authors: RH
authors: McKee
authors: Gary D
authors: GD
authors: Minsavage
authors: Claude
authors: C
authors: McGowan
authors: Wayne C
authors: WC
authors: Daughtrey
authors: James J
authors: JJ
authors: Freeman
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001564:Benzo(a)pyrene / Q000633:toxicity; D002273:Carcinogens / Q000633:toxicity*; D004121:Dimethyl Sulfoxide / Q000633:toxicity; D006838:Hydrocarbons / Q000633:toxicity*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008809:Mice, Inbred C3H; D008899:Mineral Oil / Q000633:toxicity; D009153:Mutagens / Q000633:toxicity*; D010578:Petroleum / Q000633:toxicity*; D012486:Salmonella typhimurium / Q000187:drug effects / Q000254:growth & development; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000139:chemically induced*; D036401:Toxicity Tests, Chronic
chemical_list: D002273:Carcinogens; D006838:Hydrocarbons; D009153:Mutagens; D010578:Petroleum; D001564:Benzo(a)pyrene; D008899:Mineral Oil; C006647:asphalt; D004121:Dimethyl Sulfoxide