Mutagenic activity of human drinking water before and after chlorination in Villa Hermosa treatment plant

Abstract

We found that pollution and chlorination have effects on mutagenicity of water from Villa Hermosa purification plant. In order to evaluate the mutagenic activity we used Ames‘ test with Salmonella strains TA-100 and TA-98. We observed that anthropogenic pollution and dental industry residues are the origin of the high indirect mutagenicity observed in water which gets into Villa Hermosa treatment plant and that before chlorination water treated in this plant (zone 5) retains about 70% of mutagens derived from pollution, Mutagens that were not retained by treatment may be added or potentiate the new mutagens formed by chlorination of drinking water (zone 6). The very high direct mutagenicity with TA-100 obtained from this chlorinated water is consistent with the type of mutagenicity of thrihalomethanes formed in chlorinated water.