GENOTOXICITY OF INDUSTRIAL-WASTES AND EFFLUENTS

In excess of several million pounds of genotoxic and/or carcinogenic i ndustrial wastes are released into the U.S. environment each year. Che mical characterization of these waste materials can rarely provide an adequate assessment of their genotoxicity and potential hazard. Bioass ays do not require prior information about chemical composition and ca n effectively assess the genotoxicity of complex waste materials. The most commonly used genotoxicity assay has been the Salmonella mutageni city assay. Results with this system have shown that the genotoxic pot ency of industrial wastes can vary over 10 orders of magnitude, from v irtually nondetectable to highly potent. Industries employing similar industrial processes generally release wastes of similar potency. Extr emely high potency wastes include those from furazolidone and nitrofur fural production. Pulp and paper mills, steel foundries, and organic c hemical manufacturing facilities also discharge wastes of noteworthy p otency. Treatment and remediation of some wastes, such as pulp and pap er mill effluents, have been shown to reduce or eliminate genotoxicity . However, in other cases, treatment and remediation have been shown t o enhance genotoxicity, such as for fungal treatment of oils. Analyses of samples collected from areas known to receive industrial wastes an d effluents have shown that genotoxins can accumulate in the receiving environment and have adverse effects on indigenous biota. The evaluat ion of hazardous wastes and effluents by genotoxicity assays may provi de data useful not only for hazard identification but for comparative risk assessment. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.