LARGE-SCALE GENOTOXICITY ASSESSMENTS IN THE MARINE-ENVIRONMENT

There are a number of techniques for detecting genotoxicity in the mar ine environment, and many are applicable to large-scale field assessme nts. Certain tests can be used to evaluate responses in target organis ms in situ while others utilize surrogate organisms exposed to field s amples in short-term laboratory bioassays. Genotoxicity endpoints appe ar distinct from traditional toxicity endpoints, but some have chemica l or ecotoxicologic correlates. One versatile end point, the frequency of anaphase aberrations, has been used in several large marine assess ments to evaluate genotoxicity in the New York Bight, in sediment from San Francisco Bay, and following the Exxon Valdez oil spill.