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EFFECT OF A BASE-CATALYZED DECHLORINATION PROCESS ON THE GENOTOXICITY OF PCB-CONTAMINATED SOIL
Citation:
DeMarini, D.M., V. Houk, A. Kornel, AND C. Rogers. EFFECT OF A BASE-CATALYZED DECHLORINATION PROCESS ON THE GENOTOXICITY OF PCB-CONTAMINATED SOIL. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/J-92/433 (NTIS PB93141323), 1992.
Description:
We evaluated the genotoxicity of dichloromethane (DCM) extracts of PCB-contaminated soil before and after the soil had been treated by a base-catalyzed dechlorination process, which involved heating a mixture of the soil, polyethylene glycol, and sodium hydroxide to 250-350 degrees C. his dechlorination process reduced by over 99% the PCB concentration in the soil, which was initially 2,200 ppm. he DCM extracts of both control and treated soils were not mutagenic in strain TA100 of Salmonella, but they were mutagenic in strain TA98. he base-catalyzed dechlorination process reduced the mutagenic potency of the soil by approximately one-half. he DCM extracts of the soils before and after treatment were equally genotoxic in a prophage-induction assay in E. coli, which detects some chlorinated organic carcinogens that were not detected by the Salmonella mutagenicity assay. hese results show that treatment of PCB-contaminated soil by this base-catalyzed dechlorination process did not increase the genotoxicity of the soil.