Toxic Compounds Formed by the Chlorination of Arizona Surface Waters

摘要

The two major organic constituents of drinking water, humic and fulvic acids, produce chloroform and other toxic halocarbons when they are chlorinated. Little is known about this reaction, because the chemical structures of these polymeric acids are obscure. A new method was developed for elucidating important structural features in these compounds. They reveal the nature and abundance of the phenolic, acidic and carbohydrate groups in humic and fulvic acids. These properties will help predict the interactions of humates with their chemical and aquatic environment and help classify humic materials on a rational, structural basis. Ozone has been proposed as an alternative disinfectant to chlorine. However, it is not known whether mutagenic compounds are produced by the ozonization of organic matter in water. Therefore, a study of the mutagenicity of a number of phenolic compounds was carried out, before and after ozone treatment. The list of compounds included humic and fulvic acids, tannic acid, lignin, rutin and simple phenols. Bacterial mutagenicity was determined by the Ames test, which correlates with carcinogenicity in animals at a 90% level.