Microbial genotoxicity as an environmental indicator for near-coastal sediment pore waters.

The genotoxic potential of sediment pore water collected from coastal areas in the Gulf of Mexico has not been reported frequently in the literature. This report summarizes a study of the microbial mutagenicity of 31 pore water samples obtained from sediment affected by non-point source runoff and compares the results with those for more traditional chemical and biological indicators of sediment quality. Genotoxicity was determined pre- and post-enzyme activation using a proprietary short-term microbial assay for pore water centrifuged from sediment collected adjacent to a Florida coastal golf complex and from an urbanized bayou-estuary.

Potential genotoxicity of wastewater-contaminated pore waters with comparison to sediment toxicity and macrobenthic community composition.

The objectives of this survey were to determine the genotoxic potential of sediment pore waters above and below 10 wastewater outfalls and to compare the results to sediment chemical quality guidelines, acute toxicity, and macrobenthic community composition. The focus of the study was on genotoxicity since its occurrence in environmental media below wastewater discharges in the Gulf of Mexico region has not been reported in the scientific literature. Pore waters from 43 sediment samples were assayed using a microbial mutagenicity assay before and after activation with a rat liver microsome mix (S-9).