A combined approach to the evaluation of organic air pollution — A case study of urban air in Sarajevo and Tuzla (Bosnia and Herzegovina)

Organic pollution is a complexmixture where besides usually discussed polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) a lot of other toxic or potentially toxic compounds occur. In this case, the organic air pollution in two important industrial cities, Sarajevo and Tuzla, inBosnia and Herzegovina (part of former Yugoslavia) was assessed with the emphasis placed on genotoxic risks using both chemical (PAHs analyses) and biological approaches (genotoxicity testing with a screening bacterial genotoxicity test—SOS chromotest). The study was performed as a part of the APOPSBAL project (ICA2-CT2002-10007). So far there has not been any information either about the PAHs pollution or the genotoxic activity of the organic air pollution for the localities under the study. Therefore, the presented information is considered absolutely unique. Both used approaches made possible to identify the localitieswith the highest pollution level and genotoxic risks in both cities. Generally, higher levels of both parameters were determined in Tuzla, which is much more industrialized than Sarajevo, and especially at localities close to city centers and affected by traffic emissions, but also at localities polluted by emissions from industry and household heating. Even if benzo(a)pyrene concentrations exceeded themaximum permitted levels for this pollutant at some localities in Tuzla, the PAHs concentrations were fully comparable with the levels determined in other industrial European cities. Significant genotoxicity of the organic extracts was detected for almost all of the urban localities in the test both without (−S9; direct genotoxicity) and with the addition of metabolic activation (+S9; indirect genotoxicity). The observed direct genotoxic activities were discussed in relation to a potential presence of PAHs derivatives in the air. The indirect genotoxic activities were apparently higher at the localities with higher contents of carcinogenic PAHs. The significant relationship between the determined genotoxic activities and the PAHs pollution was also confirmed by a regression analysis. However, the correlations were not absolute because the observed genotoxic activity was also dependent on the presence of other organic pollutants than the PAHs. It concerns predominantly direct genotoxicity which is not related with the PAHs, but with their nitro-, oxi-, and hydroxy-derivatives and also other unknown polar organic pollutants. However, the concentrations of the direct genotoxins apparently correlated with the PAHs contents in the air. The study showed that screening genotoxicity tests, such as the SOS chromotest, could be effectively used for the identification of localities with increased genotoxic risks. In comparison with the health risk assessment which is usually based on the chemical analyses of only a small part of the pollution mixture, the bioassays enable us to evaluate the risks of all the mixture. The localities with the highest detected human health risks according to the screening bioassays may then be analyzed in detail with specific chemical methods to identify their causes.