Comparison of Impact of Residual Radioactivity Versus Pesticide-Derived Soil Pollution on Genotoxicity

A comparative analysis was performed of the impact on living organisms, in terms of genotoxicity, of two factors, namely, radiation (residual 137Cs) and a chemical factor (pesticides) . The experiment was conducted both on individual pesticide samples and the aqueous extracts of soil samples. Soil samples were collected in the territory of the Orel region (Russia) from May 12 to May 15, 2010, i.e., years after the Chernobyl accident. Changes in the mutagenic index derived from Ames assay (Salmonella/microsomes) and the data obtained from mammalian cell culture in the Cricetulus griseus test (Chinese hamster) of the soil samples arising from the cesium radioactivity and the content of pesticides in these samples were considered. No direct correlation was found between dose level and genotoxicity at low radiation doses (20 μR/h), i.e., correlation with DNA mutations produced, both in terms of frameshifting and the base replacement type. On the contrary, a clear tendency was observed for increase in genotoxicity with increase in the concentration of pesticides and the entire amount of anthropogenic toxicants in the studied soil samples.