Genetoxicity and estrogen-like cell growth activity of samples extracted from street dusts

Genotoxicity and estrogen-like cell growth activity of samples extracted from street dusts in Okayama Prefecture, Japan was examined. A bacterial assay, umu-test, was used to measure genotoxicity of the samples, and the human breast cancer cell line, MCF-7, was used to measure estrogenic activity of the samples. The monthly change in genotoxicity and estrogenic activity due to accumulated pollutants was analyzed, and their relationship with traffic load, sunlight, and rainfall was discussed. The samples extracted from the dusts, which were collected from locations 1 and 2 on Route-2, were found to have high genotoxicity and showed estrogen-like cell growth activities higher than other locations. (C) 2000 by John Wiley and Sons, Inc.