HIGH NITRATE CONTENT IN DRINKING-WATER - CYTOGENETIC EFFECTS IN EXPOSED CHILDREN

The potential genotoxicity of nitrates and nitrites-contaminants of dr inking water that have been implicated in carcinogenesis-was investiga ted in this study. Sister chromatid exchanges and frequency of chromat id/chromosome aberrations were studied in peripheral blood lymphocytes of 70 children who were 12-15 y of age. These children were permanent residents in geographical areas of Greece, where elevated concentrati ons of nitrates (i.e., 55.70-87.98 mg/l) existed in drinking water. Th e control group comprised 20 healthy children who resided in areas wit h very low nitrate concentrations (i.e., 0.7 mg/l). A significant incr ease in the mean number of chromatid/chromosome breaks was observed in children exposed to nitrate concentrations that exceeded 70.5 mg/l (p < .01), but there was no significant increase in the mean number of s ister chromatid exchanges per cell. The results indicate that chronic administration of elevated concentrations of nitrate in drinking water has the capability of inducing cytogenetic effects.