Application of Tradescantia Micronucleus Assay for In Situ Evaluation of Potential Genetic Hazards from Exposure to Chemicals at a Wood-Preserving Site

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Abstract
In situ evaluation of biological hazards from wood preserving chemicals at a hazardous waste site using the Tradescantia micronucleus assay (Trad-MCN) is reported in this study. The chemical analysis of soil samples from the site showed high contamination with arsenic (1,292 mg/kg), chromium (1,444 mg/kg) and copper (924 mg/kg) on the surface of the drip area where wood was allowed to dry after the treatment. Exposure of Tradescantia plants grown within or adjacent to the drip area showed significantly (P=0.05) higher frequencies of micronuclei when compared to plants grown in nearby control plots. The results of Tradescantia plants treated with slurry of the soil samples from the test plots as well as the results from on site exposure showed significantly (P=0.05) higher frequencies of micronuclei as compared to the concurrent controls. After remediation, the levels of arsenic, chromium, and copper were substantially reduced and concomitantly no genotoxic activity was observed in plants grown on-site or in plants exposed in the laboratory to a slurry of soil samples from this site. The results from this pilot study show that simple plant assays such as Trad-MCN can be used as a sentinel for environmental contamination and to assess the efficacy of clean-up efforts.

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