| Soil from former manufactured-gas plant sites is typically contaminated with a complex mixture of hazardous compounds, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, many of which are suspected carcinogens. However, biological treatment of these soils may result in the production of genotoxic metabolites. To determine whether bioremediation of an MGP soil increases the formation of products detrimental to DNA repair mechanisms, we tested the genotoxic profiles of solvent extracts of contaminated soil from Salisbury, NC both before and after treatment in a laboratory-scale column that simulated in situ biostimulation. This study utilized a cell library containing a parent DT40 vertebrate cell line and a battery of isogenic mutants deficient in at least one DNA damage response pathway. Overall genotoxic responses from this study suggest biostimulation of contaminated soil is an effective tool for the reduction of parent compounds but that metabolites from aerobic microbial activity are more genotoxic than the original untreated soil. |
