Polycyclic Aromatic Compounds in Hamilton Air: Their Mutagenicity, Ambient Concentrations and Relationships with Atmospheric Pollutants

Abstract

A large number of 24-hour high-volume samples of respirable air particulate were collected on Teflon/glass filters in Hamilton, Ontario. A series of representative filters were selected for extraction, and examined using a combination of liquid chromatographic, GC/MS and bioassay techniques. A selected group of polycyclic aromatic compounds (PAC), including a number of hydrocarbons, nitroarenes, thia-arenes and oxygen-containing PAC, were identified in thirty-three particulate extracts for correlation with the mutagenic responses for each extract using a Salmonella strain (YG1021) which responds well to nitroarenes. A good correlation was found for mutagenic potency and weight of nonpolar PAC in the data set presented. The atmospheric transformation product 2-nitrofluoranthene was identified as a major source of mutagenic potency in one heavily loaded particulate sample. The relationship between the levels of PAC and/or the mutagenicity in the extracts as a result of exposure to atmospheric pollutants was also examined.

Key Words:

• Mutagenicity
• polycyclic aromatic compounds
• 2-nitrofluoranthene
• thia-arenes
• atmospheric pollutants