The genotoxic contribution of wood smoke to indoor respirable suspended particles: Fid-Bau Portal

The genotoxic contribution of wood smoke to indoor respirable suspended particles

Boone, P.M. / Rossman, T.G. / Daisey, J.M.

AbstractThe effect of wood burning stoves on the genotoxicity of indoor respirable organic matter was investigated for four homes during the winter and spring of 1986. Paired samples, one collected when the stove was not used and one when wood was burned, were extracted with dichloromethane and acetone. Aliquots of the dichloromethane extracts were analyzed with and without metabolic activation using the Microscreen bioassay. The Microscreen is a rapid, sensitive bioassay which measures a broad genotoxic endpoint, λ-prophage induction. Per nanogram of organic material, wood smoke proved to be a major source of indirect (observed with metabolic activation) but not direct genotoxins in homes. The increase in indirect genotoxicity for extracts from aerosol containing wood smoke is probably due to higher concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the wood smoke aerosol as well as other unidentified classes. The direct genotoxicity observed for extracts of aerosol not containing wood smoke decreased with metabolic activation. This direct genotoxicity may be related to cooking activities in the homes. The trends in genotoxicity observed per nanogram of organic material are more pronounced when expressed per m³ of air due to the higher percentage of extractable material in aerosol containing wood smoke.