Induction of mammalian cell chronic cytotoxicity and acute genomic DNA damage by drinking water disinfection byproducts

ENVR 105

Michael J. Plewa, mplewa@uiuc.edu1, Mark G. Muellner, muellner@uiuc.edu1, Susan D. Richardson, richardson.susan@epa.gov2, and Elizabeth D. Wagner, edwagner@uiuc.edu1. (1) Department of Crop Sciences, & Center of Advanced Materials for the Purification of Water with Systems, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, (2) U.S. EPA, National Exposure Research Laboratory, 960 College Station Rd., Athens, GA 30605
In order to generate a quantitative, direct comparison among classes of drinking water disinfection by-products (DBPs), we developed and calibrated in vitro mammalian cell cytotoxicity and genomic DNA damage assays to integrate the analytical biology with the analytical chemistry of these important environmental contaminants. We quantitatively analyzed individual DBPs from the major DBP classes and their rank order for cellular cytotoxicity and genotoxicity is haloacetamides ³ haloacetonitriles > halonitromethanes > haloacetic acids > other haloacids > halomethanes. The generated database of over 65 DBPs demonstrates the universality of the comparative toxicity of iodo- > bromo- >> chloro-DBPs across different structural DBP classes and the substantially greater toxicity of nitrogen-containing DBPs (N-DBPs) compared to carbonaceous DBPs (C-DBPs). These results are important in light of the increasing occurrence of iodinated-DBPs and N-DBPs resulting from the use of alternative disinfectants.
 

Advances in Drinking Water Disinfection and Disinfection Byproduct Management
8:30 AM-12:10 PM, Tuesday, April 8, 2008 Morial Convention Center -- Rm. 236, Oral

Division of Environmental Chemistry

The 235th ACS National Meeting, New Orleans, LA, April 6-10, 2008