Four concentration methods ; XAD resin adsorption, CSP/CHPA resin adsorption, dichloromethane solvent extraction, and blue rayon adsorption were compared for their abilities to concentrate mutagens from leachate samples obtained from a municipal solid waste landfill. The Ames Salmonella/microsome assay was used to evaluate the four methods. The XAD resin adsorption, the CSP/CHPA resin adsorption, and the solvent extraction well recovered mutagens from leachate samples, while the blue rayon adsorption could scarcely recover mutagens, suggesting that polyaromatic hydrocarbons having 3 or more fused aromatic rings in their structures less contribute to the mutagenic activity of landfill leachate. Mutagens were well recovered only after leachate samples were acidified. Therefore, it is likely that predominant mutagens in landfill leachate are acidic compounds. TA98 detected mutagenicity of concentrates better than TA100 and the addition of S9 did not increase the number of revertants.
Judging from these results, the XAD resin adsorption, the CSP/CHPA resin adsorption, and the solvent extraction are suitable for concentrating mutagens from landfill leachate.
