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HALOACETONITRILES VS. REGULATED HALOACETIC ACIDS: ARE NITROGEN CONTAINING DBPS MORE TOXIC?
Citation:
MUELLNER, M. G., E. D. WAGNER, K. MCCALLA, S. D. RICHARDSON, Y. WOO, AND M. J. PLEWA. HALOACETONITRILES VS. REGULATED HALOACETIC ACIDS: ARE NITROGEN CONTAINING DBPS MORE TOXIC? . ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY. American Chemical Society, Washington, DC, 41(2):645-651, (2007).
Impact/Purpose:
Develop analytical methods to quantify iodinated DBPs in chloraminated drinking waters and to collaborate with CDC which is developing methods to measure iodo-THMs in human blood/urine.
Description:
Haloacetonitriles (HANs) are toxic nitrogenous drinking water disinfection by-products (N-DBPs) and are observed with chlorine, chloramine, or chlorine dioxide disinfection. Using microplate-based Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell assays for chronic cytotoxicity and acute genotoxicity, we analyzed 7 HANs: iodoacetonitrile (IAN), bromoacetonitrile (BAN), dibromoacetonitrile (DBAN), bromochloroacetonitrile (BCAN), chloroacetonitrile (CAN), dichloroacetonitrile (DCAN), and trichloroacetonitrile (TCAN). As a chemical class, the HANs are more toxic than regulated DBPs, such as the haloacetic acids. The toxicity of N-DBPs may become a health concern because of the increased use of alternative disinfectants, such as chloramines, which may enhance the formation of N-DBPs, including HANs.