Abstract |
Dyes are used by the military in M18 marker signaling grenades. A number of organic dyes are presently being evaluated for potential use in these grenades. In addition to engineering studies for their performance in the field, the U.S. Army is concerned with evaluating any potential health hazards that might result from personal contact with the dyes in the industrial setting. A part of this testing is the analysis of potential genetic toxicity. Three dyes (Solvent Red 1, Disperse Blue 3, and Disperse Red 11) were tested for mutagenicity in the Salmonella reversion assay and the L5178Y/TK+/- mouse lymphoma assay. These in vitro assays were performed both with and without exogenous activation provided by Aroclor-induced rat liver S9. In the Salmonella assay, Solvent Red 1 was positive with S9 activation in strain TA100 and negative to questionably positive in the other strains and activation conditions. Disperse Blue 3 was positive with S9 activation in strain TA1537 and negative to questionably positive under the other test conditions. Disperse Red 11 was positive with S9 activation in strain TA102, but negative to weakly positive with the other strains and activation conditions. Both Disperse Blue 3 and Disperse Red 11 were positive both with and without S9 activation in the mouse lymphoma assay. Disperse Red 1 could not be tested without activation. WIth S9 activation, it was weakly positive. Keywords: Toxicity; Health hazards. (KT) |