The fetotoxic potential of municipal drinking water in the mouse

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Abstract
Mice (CD‐1 strain) were placed on diets containing either municipal drinking water (Durham, North Carolina) or water that had been distilled and passed through cartridges to reduce organics and remove inorganics. After a two‐week acclimation period, animals were bred and pregnancy confirmed by the presence of a sperm plug. During the 8‐month course of the study, approximately 500 pregnant mice were sacrificed on day 18 of gestation and their fetuses examined for visceral and skeletal anomalies. No significant water‐related effects were found on any fetal parameter studied except for a 28.1% incidence of supernumerary ribs in the tap‐water group as compared to 21.1% in the purified‐water group. No differences were noted in the type or occurrence of anomalies between the two groups. A month to month variation was observed in a number of parameters. The degree of variation was similar for the treatment groups, suggesting that these changes might be random fluctuations.

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