EXCESSIVE ARSENIC CONTENT IN THE SOIL MAY BE INJURIOUS TO HEALTH : A GENOTOXIC STUDY FROM JAJJAL....

The presence of arsenic in the soil and the high frequency of malignancy among the population of this cotton-growing region of Punjab demanded a study of its genotoxic potential. The Allium assay was used to investigate the genotoxicity of soils from three sites in Jajjal village, Talwandi Sabo Block, Punjab (India), namely tube-well irrigated field, canal irrigated field, and non-irrigated land. Allium sativum bulblets (cloves) were treated for 48 hours with 1, 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 percent W/V soil extracts, with tap water as a control. Root tip cells of Allium sativum were graded for the presence of several mitotic aberrations in the chromosomal aberration assay. Clastogenicity was determined by the presence of bridges and fragments, while spindle poisoning was determined by the presence of laggards or vagrant chromosomes. The soils irrigated by tubewells were found to be more genotoxic than the other soil samples.

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