Biomass burning particles in the Brazilian Amazon region: Mutagenic effects of nitro and oxy-PAHs and assessment of health risks

Author(s)

de Oliveira Galvao, Marcos Felipe ^[1] ; Alves, Nilmara de Oliveira ^[2] ; Ferreira, Paula Anastacia ^[3] ; Caumo, Sofia ^[4] ; Vasconcellos, Perola de Castro ^[4] ; Artaxo, Paulo ^[5] ; Hacon, Sandra de Souza ^[6] ; Roubicek, Deborah Arnsdorff ^[7] ; Batistuzzo de Medeiros, Silvia Regina ^[1]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Fed Rio Grande do Norte, Biosci Ctr, Dept Cell Biol & Genet, Natal, RN - Brazil

^[2] Univ Sao Paulo, Sch Med, Dept Pathol, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[3] Fed Univ Para, Altamira Campus, Belem, Para - Brazil

^[4] Univ Sao Paulo, Chem Inst, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[5] Univ Sao Paulo, Phys Inst, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[6] Fundacao Oswaldo Cruz, Natl Sch Publ Hlth, Rio De Janeiro - Brazil

^[7] CETESB, Sao Paulo State Environm Agcy, Dept Environm Anal, BR-5510 Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: Environmental Pollution; v. 233, p. 960-970, FEB 2018.
• Web of Science Citations: 14

Abstract

Emissions from burning of biomass in the Amazon region have adverse effects on the environment and human health. Herein, particulate matter (PM) emitted from biomass burning in the Amazon region during two different periods, namely intense and moderate, was investigated. This study focused on: i) organic characterization of nitro- and oxy-polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs); ii) assessment of the excess lifetime cancer risk (LCR); and iii) assessment of the in vitro mutagenic effects of extractable organic matter (EOM). Further, we compared the sensitivity of two mutagenicity tests: Salmonella/microsome test and cytokinesis-block micronucleus (CBMN) with human lung cells. Among the nitro-PAHs, 2-nitrofluoranthene, 7-nitrobenz{[}a]anthracene, 1-nitropyrene, and 3-nitrofluoranthene showed the highest concentrations, while among oxy-PAHs, 2-metylanthraquinone, benz{[}alanthracene-7,12-dione, and 9,10-anthraquinone were the most abundant. The LCR calculated for nitro-PAH exposure during intense biomass burning period showed a major contribution of 6-nitrochrysene to human carcinogenic risk. The EOM from intense period was more mutagenic than that from moderate period for both TA98 and YG1041 Salmonella strains. The number of revertants for YG1041 was 5-50% higher than that for TA98, and the most intense responses were obtained in the absence of metabolic activation, suggesting that nitroaromatic compounds with direct-acting frameshift mutagenic activity are contributing to the DNA damage. Treatment of cells with non-cytotoxic doses of EOM resulted in an increase in micronuclei frequencies. The minimal effective dose showed that Salmonella/microsome test was considerably more sensitive in comparison with CBMN mainly for the intense burning period samples. This was the first study to assess the mutagenicity of EOM associated with PM collected in the Amazon region using Salmonella/microsome test. The presence of compounds with mutagenic effects, particularly nitro- and oxy-PAHs, and LCR values in the range of 10(-5) indicate that the population is potentially exposed to an increased risk of DNA damage, mutation, and cancer. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 13/05014-0 - GoAmazon: interactions of the urban plume of Manaus with biogenic forest emissions in Amazonia
• Grantee: Paulo Eduardo Artaxo Netto
• Support Opportunities: Research Program on Global Climate Change - Thematic Grants