Cytogenetic evaluation of aquatic genotoxicity in human cultured lymphocytes

This paper presents the results of a cytogenetic study to evaluate the qual ity of Cai river water at the area under the influence of the Petrochemical Complex of the State of Rio Grande do Sul. Cytokinesis-block micronucleus assay (CBMN) was performed on cultured human lymphocytes exposed to stream water samples. The Cai River is an important tributary to the Guaiba basin that includes Porto Alegre, the capital of Rio Grande do Sul. The Cai river water is the source of drinking water after conventional treatment, and is also used for irrigation and primary contact recreation according to Feder al regulations. Water samples were collected in the Cai River and some trib utaries at four sites for 20 months with a bimonthly frequency, in a total of 11 samplings, from November 1993 to July 1995. It was possible to detect the presence of substances with clastogenic and/or aneugenic potential in vitro human lymphocytes at the different sites analyzed. As to the four sit es studied, site B presents nearly half of the total positive results (44%) , followed by sites A (28%), D (17%) and C (11%). The CBMN assay in human l ymphocytes was a sensitive cytogenetic approach for aquatic environmental s tudies, and should be better exploited to monitor industrial areas. (C) 200 0 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.