Contributions of disinfection by-products to activity inducing chromosomal aberrations of drinking water

The relationships between activity inducing chromosomal aberrations of waters treated with disinfectants and by-products were investigated by focusing on nitro and carbonyl groups, respectively. The contribution of the carbonyl group to activity inducing aberrations of treated waters was found to be large. On the other hand, the contribution of the nitro group was small. In the case of chlorinated water, organochlorine compounds contribute to activity inducing aberrations in addition to carbonyl group. The carbonyl group could be useful as a coarse indicator to compare activity inducing aberrations among waters treated with chlorine dioxide, chloramine, and ozone. Activity inducing aberrations of chlorinated water including the same amount of carbonyl group was demonstrated to reach approximately 10 times those of waters treated with three other disinfectants.