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CONTRIBUTION OF WOODSMOKE AND MOTOR VEHICLE EMISSIONS TO AMBIENT AEROSOL MUTAGENICITY (JOURNAL VERSION)
Citation:
Lewis, C., R. Baumgardner, R. Stevens, L. Claxton, AND J. Lewtas. CONTRIBUTION OF WOODSMOKE AND MOTOR VEHICLE EMISSIONS TO AMBIENT AEROSOL MUTAGENICITY (JOURNAL VERSION). U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/J-88/237 (NTIS PB89142749), 1988.
Description:
Mutagenicity is frequently considered as a screening test for the carcinogenicity of compounds to which humans are exposed. Past estimates of the mutagenicity of ambient aerosol have depended on measurements of the mutagenic potency (refertants/microg) of the extractable organic matter (EOM) in Salmonella typhimurium from specific source emissions and their mass emission rate. This source-oriented approach requires an explicit model for the dispersion and possible transformation of the mutagens in the atmosphere. However, a receptor-oriented approach, demonstrated here, requires only ambient measurements of mutagenicity and of trace elements that are markers for the suspected sources of the mutagens. During winter at a residential site, woodsmoke and motor vehicle emissions were found to make nearly equal contributions to the average mutagenic concentration (refertants/cu m) of the fine particle ambient aerosol. Mutagenic potency of the fine particle EOM traced to motor vehicles, however, was three times greater than that with a woodsmoke origin. The results are consistent with the known potency of these sources, from source measurements.