Measurement of Mutagenic Activity in Contaminated Soils

Bioassays, such as the Salmonella /microsome assay described by Ames et al. (1 ), are routinely used to measure mutagenic activity of organic extracts This assay has been implemented successfully in the qualitative measurement of mutagenic compounds extracted from soils, sludges, and particulate samples (2 -6 ). In addltlon, the Microscreen phage-mductlon assay originally developed by Rossman et al (7 ) has been shown to be more sensitive to certain types of contaminants (including some carcinogenic metals, chlorinated pesticides, and solvents) that are not mutagenic in Salmonella (7 -9 ). The use of a combination of these assays allows for testing of a broad range of unknown and often complex mixtures of contaminants found in environmental samples.