Drinking water quality: an in vitro approach for the assessment of cytotoxic and genotoxic load in water sampled along distribution system.

An in vitro approach was performed to assess the quality of drinking water collected at two treatment/distribution networks located near the source (Plant #1) and the mouth of River Po (Plant #2). The water was sampled at different points of each distribution network, before (raw water) and after the chlorine dioxide disinfection, and in two points of the pipeline system to evaluate the influence of the distribution system on the amount and quality of the disinfection by-product. Cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of water extracts were evaluated in human peripheral lymphocytes and Hep-G2 cells by the use of the micronucleus (MN) test and Comet assay.

Different effects of PCB101, PCB118, PCB138 and PCB153 alone or mixed in MCF-7 breast cancer cells.

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are ubiquitous, persistent environmental contaminants that can be a potential health hazard. In the present study we analyzed the potential estrogenic effect in MCF-7 cells of four biologically relevant PCB congeners, alone or in mixtures, present in dairy products, vegetable oil and fish: PCB101, PCB118, PCB138 and PCB153. The mixture of four PCB was tested at seven different concentrations.

In vitro cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of chlorinated drinking waters sampled along the distribution system of two municipal networks.

When chlorine is used as a disinfectant for drinking water it may react with organic materials present in or released by the water pipes and thus form by-products that may represent a genotoxic hazard. The aim of this study was to assess the potential genotoxicity and cytotoxicity of extracts of chlorinated drinking water supplied by local aquifers of two Italian towns, Plants 1 and 2, located in the sub-Alpine area and on the Po plain, respectively. The raw water fell within the legal limits with regards to its chemical and physical properties.

Toxicity evaluation of surface water treated with different disinfectants in HepG2 cells.

It is well known that water disinfection through chlorination causes the formation of a mixture of disinfection by-products (DBPs), many of which are genotoxic and carcinogenic. To demonstrate the formation of such compounds, a pilot water plant supplied with water from Lake Trasimeno was set up at the waterworks of Castiglione del Lago (PG, Italy). The disinfectants, continuously added to pre-filtered lake water flowing into three different basins, were sodium hypochlorite, chlorine dioxide and peracetic acid, an alternative disinfectant used until now for disinfecting waste waters, but not yet studied for a possible use in drinking water treatment.

Estrogenic effect of procymidone through activation of MAPK in MCF-7 breast carcinoma cell line.

Procymidone modifies sexual differentiation in vitro and induces estrogenic activity in primary cultured rainbow trout hepatocytes, as shown by an increase in the contents of vitellogenin and heat shock proteins. Since this dicarboximide fungicide is found in human tissues, it was considered of interest to investigate its ability to induce endocrine damage in the MCF-7 human cell line. The mechanism of this estrogenic action was also evaluated.