Conventional armament wastes induce micronuclei in wild brown trout Salmo trutta

We analysed micronuclei in brown trout Salmo trutta specimens sampled in th e Trubia River, upstream and downstream of the emissions from a Spanish mil itary factory to assess genotoxicity risks derived from military wastes. A significant exponential increase in micronuclei counts was found in fish li ving downstream of the military wastes with respect to fishes inhabiting up stream areas of the same river. In comparison, we only found a Linear incre ase in micronuclei counts in a control stream where an old military factory had been demolished 6 months before sampling. This difference suggests tha t active discharge of armament factory wastes can directly induce micronucl ei and therefore represents a genotoxic risk for the ecosystem. (C) 2000 El sevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.