Clastogenicity evaluation of seven chemicals commonly found at hazardous industrial waste sites

7 chemicals commonly found at the industrial waste sites were tested with the Tradescantia-Micronucleus (Trad-MCN) assay to evaluate their clastogenic potential. Chemicals selected from the US EPA Superfund Priority 1 list were: aldrin, arsenic trioxide, 1,2-benz[a, h]anthracene, dieldrin, heptachlor, lead tetraacetate and tetrachloroethylene. Results of repeated tests for clastogenicity yielded the minimum effective dose (MED) for clastogenicity of 0.44 ppm for lead tetraacetate, 1.88 ppm for heptaclor, 3.81 ppm for dieldrin and arsenic trioxide and 1,2-benz[a, h]anthracene yielded positive responses at the MED of 3.96 ppm and 12.50 ppm respectively. Aldrin and tetrachloroethylene were considered to be immiscible with water, and the tests yielded negative responses. Tetrachloroethylene in gaseous state was also used to treat the flower buds. Results of tetrachloroethylene vapor phase treatment yielded a positive response at the MED of 30 ppm/min after a 2-h exposure. 5 chemicals determined to be clastogens by this test were ranked according to their MED in the descending order of potency as follows: lead tetraacetate, heptachlor, dieldrin, arsenic trioxide and 1,2-benz[a, h]anthracene. Results of this study indicate that the Trad-MCN bioassay could be effectively utilized for assessing the potential clastogenicity of the chemicals commonly found at the industrial hazardous waste sites.