Abstract
The pollution of our environment by a variety of mutagenic agents has been at issue in the last few years. The herbicide 2, 4, 5-trichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2, 4, 5-T) has turned out to be a potent mutagenic agent. Therefore, we evaluated the cytogenetic effect of this compound on the human leukocyte in vitro. Chromatid aberrations were observed and it was found that their incidence increases in proportion to a rise in dose.
It has been claimed that the teratogenic effects of 2, 4, 5-T may be attributed to the presence of 2, 3, 7, 8-tetrachlorobenzo-p-dioxin (dioxin) as an impurity. The compound used in our study contained 0.09μg/g of dioxin. Although the level of contamination is low, the possible roleof dioxin cannot be ruled out. Nevertheless, the fact remains that the mutagenic effects of the compound now available are undeniable.
