Seasonal and Spatial Variations in Human Cell Mutagenicity of Respirable Airborne Particles in the Northeastern United States
Abstract
Samples of respirable airborne particles (similar in size to PM_(2.5)) were collected at five sites in the northeastern United States every sixth day during 1995 and tested in a mutagenicity assay based on human cells. Three sites were located in Massachusetts: in downtown Boston, in a suburban area 20 km to the north, and in a rural area 100 km west of Boston. The other two sites were located in downtown Rochester in upstate New York and in a rural area 35 km to the west. Bimonthly composite samples (10−11 sampling days per composite) were extracted in organic solvents and tested for mutagenicity at the thymidine kinase locus in h1A1v2 cells, a line of human B-lymphoblasts that constitutively expresses P450 CYP1A1 cDNA. Mutagenicity levels were significantly higher in winter than in summer at all sites, both per microgram of airborne particulate organic carbon (OC) and per cubic meter of air. Mutagenicity per microgram of OC was significantly inversely correlated with air temperature (r = −0.95 in NY, r = −0.40 in MA) and ambient concentrations of OC (r = −0.4). Annual averages of mutagenicity per microgram of OC in upstate New York were roughly 2-fold higher than in Massachusetts; however, no clear intrastate spatial variations were evident. Mutagenicity per cubic meter of air showed an increase of roughly 1.5−2-fold from rural areas to urban centers within each state. This increase was influenced by higher OC concentrations in the urban locations (up to 2-fold) but not by higher mutagenicity per microgram of OC. These results indicate that cold weather is significantly correlated with the human cell mutagenicity of respirable particles in the northeastern United States and further show that populations of urban centers in this region are exposed to higher levels of airborne human cell mutagens than in nearby rural areas.
Additional Information
© 1999 American Chemical Society. Received for review May 25, 1999. Revised manuscript received September 10, 1999. Accepted September 14, 1999. The authors are grateful for the efforts of Frances Lew at MIT and Alex Lunts at Rochester, who helped operate the sampling equipment, and Mark DuCombe of the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, who helped with sample unloading. The authors would also like to thank the following people and organizations: Mark Utell and Ray Gibb of the University of Rochester helped initiate the sampling program in New York; Lynn Salmon and Mike Hannigan at Caltech provided support with sampling equipment and supplies; the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection generously provided access and support at the Quabbin Site, as did Bill Pula of the Metropolitan District Commission in Quabbin State Park; Len Rucker and James Blomley (Reading Municipal Light Department) and Daniel Lieberman (Boston University Office of Environmental Health and Safety) graciously allowed us to site our equipment on their rooftops and provided on-going assistance; Lawrence Donhoffner and Lita Doza-Corpus at Gentest Corporation performed the human cell assays; Koli Taghizadeh and Elaine Plummer of the Center for Environmental Health Sciences (CEHS) at MIT for help with laboratory techniques. Funding for this study was provided by the following grants from the National Institute for Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS): Superfund Hazardous Substances Basic Research (SF P42-ESO4675), CEHS Core grant (P30-ESO2109), and Mutagenic Effects of Air Toxicants (MEAT) (P01-ESO7168).Additional details
- Eprint ID
- 67775
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20160608-103846191
- SF P42-ESO4675
- National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
- P30-ESO2109
- National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
- P01-ESO7168
- National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
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2016-06-08Created from EPrint's datestamp field
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2021-11-11Created from EPrint's last_modified field