MUTAGENIC ACTIVITY OF 2 SOILS AMENDED WITH A WOOD-PRESERVING WASTE

Organic compounds extracted from soils amended with a wood-preserving bottom sediment induced a mutagenic response in bioassays using Salmonella typhimurium and Aspergillus nidulans. The maximum level of mutagenic activity was observed in the base fraction from the waste-amended Bastrop soil. In the bioassay using S. typhimurium, the base fraction collected immediately after application from the Bastrop soil induced 77 net revertants/mg of extract, while the base fraction collected 540 days after waste application induced 1561 net revertants/mg of extract. Since the amount of extractable material decreased greatly over this period, degradation appears to have reduced the weighted activity of wood-preserving waste added to soil. Major residual organic constituents in the soil included pentachlorophenol, trimethylnaphthalene, acenaphtylene, fluroanthene, pyrene, and cyclopentaphenanthrene.