INFLUENCE OF CHEMICALS COMMONLY FOUND IN A WATER ENVIRONMENT ON THE SALMONELLA MUTAGENICITY TEST

The influence of 16 organic chemicals commonly found in a water environment - such as phenols, phthalic esters and phosphoric esters - on the Salmonella mutagenicity test was investigated. The test chemicals were subjected to the mutagenicity test using a fixed dose of various positive standard mutagens such as 2-nitrofluorene, Trp-P-1, Trp-P-2, 2-aminofluorene and benzo[a]pyrene, thus testing them for their influence on the mutagenic activities. The influence of each chemical was classified into one of five groups as follows: (1) toxic and inhibitory to mutagenicity; (2) toxic and promotive to mutagenicity; (3) non-toxic and inhibitory to mutagenicity; (4) non-toxic and promotive to mutagenicity; and (5) non-toxic and having no effect on mutagenicity. It is concluded that chemicals in the water environment may influence the results of a mutagenicity test on environmental samples. In particular, an effect may be noted with regard to wastewater and sediments which contain these chemicals in higher concentrations eventhough they themselves are not mutagenic.