GENOTOXICITY SCREENING OF LEACHATES FROM SOLID INDUSTRIAL-WASTES EVALUATED WITH THE ALLIUM TEST

Six solid wastes from the metal industry, from the chemical industry a nd from the production of pesticides were investigated for their toxic and genotoxic properties by using the Allium test. To simulate enviro nmental conditions and better assess their environmental impact, the s olid wastes were leached with water, and the water-extractable micropo llutants were lyophilised before screening. The mean root lengths of o nions exposed to different concentrations of the leachates were measur ed, and EC50 values were determined from the growth curves. The EC50 v alues of the wastes were ranked, in the order: organochlorine pesticid e waste, settling tank sludge from a chemical company, paint sludge, l ead slag, steel slag and aluminium slag. The leachates were also mitod epressive, and caused significant increases in the frequency of chromo some aberrations. These results demonstrate that the Allium test is a useful screening test for the evaluation and ranking of toxic industri al waste.