A simple technique for monitoring mutagenicity and benzo(a)pyrene content in mussels and their ambient water

Abstract

AbstractBy hanging blue rayon, an adsorbent specific for chemicals with polycyclic aromatic structures, in seawater for one day, the mutagenicity and the benzo(a)pyrene pollution of the water were monitored. Mussels living in the sites of water sampling were also subjected to the blue rayon extraction process and assayed. The mutagenicity was evaluated by the Salmonella/microsome reversion assay of Ames, with the use of a recently developed sensitive strain YG1024. The monitoring was performed in the Seto Inland Sea at 5 sites near Okayama, in the year 1991–1992. All the water and mussel samples gave positive benzo(a)pyrene contents and many of them showed positive mutagenicity (as assayed with metabolic activation). The mutagenicity and the benzo(a)pyrene contents were found to be significantly correlated both for the water samples and for the mussel samples. In contrast, there were no correlations between the water and the mussel samples regarding either the mutagenicity or benzo(a)pyrene contents. This lack of correlations may be attributed to the fact that the water samples gave results for a one‐day exposure whereas the mussel samples gave those of a long‐term exposure. This simple technique has advantages over the conventional sampling method in terms of easy handling, high sensitivity, and feasibility of monitoring distant sites. © by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.