GENOTOXICITY OF THE PHOSPHORAMIDATE AGENT TABUN (GA)

Five mutagenicity tests were performed on Agent GA (Tabun, phosphorami docyanidic acid, dimethyl-, ethyl ester) as part of a program to demil itarize chemical warfare agents. GA was mutagenic in Salmonella spp. a ssays with S-9 and it was a direct-acting mutagen to mouse lymphoma ce lls. GA did not promote unscheduled DNA synthesis in rat hepatocytes; it induced sister chromatid exchanges in mouse cells in vitro but not in vivo. The conclusion that GA is a weakly acting mutagen is supporte d by the fact that it was mutagenic in only three of the five assays, and that increases in mutagenicity were often less than 2-fold the con trols and occurred near toxic levels.