SIMPLE TECHNIQUE FOR MONITORING MUTAGENICITY AND BENZO(A)PYRENE CONTENT IN MUSSELS AND THEIR AMBIENT WATER

By hanging blue rayon, an adsorbent specific for chemicals with polycy clic aromatic structures, in seawater for one day, the mutagenicity an d the benzo(a)pyrene pollution of the water were monitored, Mussels li ving in the sites of water sampling were also subjected to the blue ra yon extraction process and assayed. The mutagenicity was evaluated by the Salmonella/microsome reversion assay of Ames, with the use of a re cently developed sensitive strain YG1024. The monitoring was performed in the Seto Inland Sea at 5 sites near Okayama, in the year 1991-1992 . All the water and mussel samples gave positive benzo(a)pyrene conten ts and many of them showed positive mutagenicity (as assayed with meta bolic activation). The mutagenicity and the benzo(a)pyrene contents we re found to be significantly correlated both for the water samples and for the mussel samples. In contrast, there were no correlations betwe en the water and the mussel samples regarding either the mutagenicity or benzo(a)pyrene contents. This lack of correlations may be attribute d to the fact that the water samples gave results for a one-day exposu re whereas the mussel samples gave those of a long-term exposure. This simple technique has advantages over the conventional sampling method in terms of easy handling, high sensitivity, and feasibility of monit oring distant sites. (C) 1995 by John Wiley and Sons, Inc.