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J.Health Sci., 52(4), 352-357, 2006
Mutagenic Activity of Atmospheric Ultrafine Particles at a Roadside Site and a Suburban Site
Youhei Kawanaka,*, a, b Emiko Matsumoto,a Ning Wang,a Yoshiteru Tsuchiya,a Sun-Ja Yun,a Zhao Wu Jiang,b and Kazuhiko Sakamotob
aThe Institute of Basic Environmental Research, Environmental Control Center Co., Ltd., 323-1 Shimo-ongata, Hachioji, Tokyo 192-0154, Japan and bDepartment of Environmental Science and Human Engineering, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Saitama University, 255 Shimo-ohkubo, Sakura, Saitama 338-8570, Japan
The mutagenic activity of size-fractionated atmospheric particulate matter (PM) was investigated at both a roadside site and a suburban site in Saitama, Japan. Sampling was carried out using a low-pressure cascade impactor between January and February 2005. The mutagenic activity of the size-fractionated PM was determined by the Ames test using Salmonella typhimurium strain TA98 without metabolic activation (S9). Most of the mutagenic activity was found in the fine particle fraction
(< 2.1 mu m) at both sites. There was almost no difference in the contribution of fine particles to the mutagenic activity of total PM between the two sites. On the other hand, there was a clear difference in the contribution of ultrafine particles (< 0.12 mu m) to the mutagenic activity between the two sites. At the suburban site, ultrafine particles accounted for 5.7% of the mutagenic activity of total PM. In contrast, at the roadside site, ultrafine particles contributed as much as 12% to the mutagenic activity of total PM, although their contribution to the total PM mass was only 2.3%. Moreover, the mutagenic activity per unit air volume in the ultrafine particle fraction at the roadside site (1.2 revertants/m3) was 3.1-fold higher than that at the suburban site (0.38 revertants/m3), although the activity in the fine particle fraction at the roadside site was only 1.4-fold higher than that at the suburban site. These results indicated that, with regard to mutagenicity, the health risk due to ultrafine particles is relatively high at roadside areas.
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