title: Occurrence and Control of Genotoxins in Drinking Water: A Monitoring Proposal.
abstract: Many studies have shown the presence of numerous organic genotoxins and carcinogens in drinking water. These toxic substances derive not only from pollution, but also from the disinfection treatments, particularly when water is obtained from surface sources and then chlorinated. Most of the chlorinated compounds in drinking water are nonvolatile and are difficult to characterize. Thus, it has been proposed to study such complex mixtures using short-term genotoxicity tests predictive of carcinogenic activity. Mutagenicity of water before and after disinfection has mainly been studied by the Salmonella/microsome (Ames test);in vitrogenotoxicity tests have also been performed in yeasts and mammalian cells;in situmonitoring of genotoxins has also been performed using complete organisms such as aquatic animals or plants(in vivo).The combination of bioassay data together with results of chemical analyses would give us a more firm basis for the assessment of human health risks related to the consumption of drinking water. Tests with different genetic end-points complement each other with regard to sensitivity toward environmental genotoxins and are useful in detecting low genotoxicity levels which are expected in drinking water samples.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical and Surgical Specialties, Radiological Sciences and Public Health, University of Brescia.
authors.forename: Elisabetta
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ceretti
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences (Unit of Public Health), University of Perugia , Italy.
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Moretti
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical and Surgical Specialties, Radiological Sciences and Public Health, University of Brescia.
authors.forename: Ilaria
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Zerbini
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences (Unit of Public Health), University of Perugia , Italy.
authors.forename: Milena
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Villarini
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical and Surgical Specialties, Radiological Sciences and Public Health, University of Brescia.
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zani
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences (Unit of Public Health), University of Perugia , Italy.
authors.forename: Silvano
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Monarca
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical and Surgical Specialties, Radiological Sciences and Public Health, University of Brescia.
authors.forename: Donatella
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Feretti
keywords: Drinking water genotoxins; control of drinking water genotoxins; disinfection by-products; health effects; short-term genotoxicity tests