Application of Tradescantia Micronucleus Assay for In situ Evaluation ofPotential Genetic Hazards from Exposure to Chemicals at a Wood-Preserving Site

摘要

In situ evaluation of biological hazards from wood preserving chemicals at ahazardous waste site using the Tradescantia micronucleus assay (Trad-MCN) is reported in the study. The chemical analysis of soil samples from the site showed high contamination with arsenic (1,292 mg/kg), chromium (1,444 mg/kg) and copper (924 mg/kg) on the surface of the drip area where wood was allowed to dry after the treatment. Exposure of Tradescantia plants grown within or adjacent to the drip area showed significantly (P=0.05) higher frequencies of micronuclei when compared to plants grown in nearby control plots. After remediation, the levels of arsenic, chromium, and copper were substantially reduced and concomitantly no genotoxic activity was observed in plants grown on-site or in plants exposed in the laboratory to a slurry of soil samples from the site. The results from the pilot study show that simple plant assays such as Trad-MCN can be used as a sentinel for environmental contamination and to assess the efficacy of clean-up efforts.