Mutagenic activity associated with by-products of drinking water disinfection by chlorine, chlorine dioxide, ozone and UV-irradiation.

A retrospective epidemiological study in The Netherlands showed a statistical association between chlorination by-products in drinking water and cancer of the esophagus and stomach for males. A pilot-plant study with alternative disinfectants was carried out with stored water of the Rivers Rhine and Meuse. It was demonstrated that the increase of direct acting mutagens after treatment with chlorine dioxide is similar to the effect of chlorination. Ozonation of Rhine water reduced the mutagenic activity for Salmonella typhimurium TA 98 both with and without metabolic activation. UV alone hardly affects the mutagenicity of the stored river water for S. typh. TA 98. In all studies, practically no mutagenic activity for S. typh. TA 100 was found. Although remarkable changes in the concentration of individual organic compounds are reported, the identity of the mutagens detected is yet unclear. Compounds of possible interest due to their removal by ozonation are 1,3,3-trimethyloxindole, dicyclopentadiene and several alkylquinolines. Compounds which might be responsible for the increased mutagenicity after chlorination are two brominated acetonitriles and tri(2-chlorethyl) phosphate. Furthermore, the concentration procedure with adsorption on XAD resin and the subsequent elution step may have affected the results. It is proposed to focus further research more on the less volatile by-products of disinfection than on the trihalomethanes.