Mutagenicity of airborne particles from a nonindustrial town

Abstract

Abstract The mutagenic activity of ambient air particles from Morgantown, West Virginia, has been monitored for 6 months using the Ames Salmonella assay system. Airborne particles, collected on glass fiber filters using a Hi‐Vol sampler, were extracted with dichloromethane (DCM) and/or ethyl acetate plus methanol (E + M) in sequence. A dose‐dependent mutagenic response was observed in Salmonella typhimurium TA 98 for DCM extracts from all samples. E + M extracts were mutagenic only when samples were extracted with E + M before DCM extraction. The mutagenic activity of samples collected in June and July was independent of S‐9 in vitro activation, whereas the mutagenicity of those collected from October to December increased in the presence of S‐9 activation. The class fractionation of extracts showed that only acidic and polynuclear aromatic fractions were mutagenic. The mutagenicity of particles from Morgantown air was also detected with the Salmonella arabinose‐resistant assay system.