Wood smoke: measurement of the mutagenic activities of its gas- and particulate-phase photooxidation products

• Published in: Environmental science & technology 1986-05, Vol.20 (5), p.493-501
• Main Authors: Kleindienst, Tadeusz E, Shepson, Paul B, Edney, Edward O, Claxton, Larry D, Cupitt, Larry T
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: AIR POLLUTION; BOIS DE CHAUFFAGE; CONTAMINACION DEL AIRE; FUELWOOD; GASES; GAZ; IRRADIACION; IRRADIATION; LENA; MEASUREMENT; MEDICION; MESURE; MUTAGENE; MUTAGENOS; MUTAGENS; POLLUTION ATMOSPHERIQUE; Salmonella typhimurium
• ISSN: 0013-936X; 1520-5851
• DOI: 10.1021/es00147a009

Dilute mixtures of wood combustion emissions (with and without additional NO sub(x)) were irradiated in a 22.7-m super(3) Teflon smog chamber. The effluent was tested for mutagenic activity by exposing Salmonella typhimurium), strains TA100 and TA98, to the filtered gas-phase components. The particulate matter was tested by using the plate incorporation procedure. Without added NO sub(x), irradiated dilute wood smoke showed a measurable increase in mutagenic activity for gas-phase products only. Additional NO sub(x) was added in other irradiations to enhance the formation of gas- and particulate-phase products. Although only lower and upper limits were obtainable, the gas-phase products showed considerably more activity (1.1-8.2 revertants/ mu g) in TA100 exposures than did the particulate product extracts. With TA98 the activities of both phases were comparable on a mass basis. Since the total quantity of gas-phase components was greater than the particulate-phase components, the mutagenic activity on a volume basis was greater for the gas phase.