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Evaluation of the Genotoxic Potential of the Mineral Coal Tailings Through the Helix aspersa (Müller, 1774)

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Abstract

Coal mining is an activity with a high potential for environmental pollution. Coal has been described as the most significant pollutant of all the fossil fuels, containing a heterogeneous mixture. Many elements present in coal byproducts as well as coal tailings are rich in potentially toxic and genotoxic metals, which ultimately lead to profound changes in cells, tissues, populations, and ecosystems. The purpose of this study was to assess the genotoxic potential of the mineral coal tailings using the land snail Helix aspersa. Animals were divided in three groups, clustered in plexiglass cages: control (animals fed with organic lettuce), coal tailings (animals living in a layer of pyrite tailings and fed with organic lettuce), and mine lettuce (animals fed with lettuce grown in an area located in a deposit of coal tailings). The hemolymph was collected at different exposure times (24 h, 48 h, 72 h, 96 h, 1 week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks, and 1 month) for comet assay analyses. Results showed that the animals of the coal tailings and mine lettuce groups presented higher levels of DNA damage in relation to the control group at all exposure times, but with a peak of DNA damage in 48 h and 96 h. These results demonstrate that the coal pyrite tailings are potentially genotoxic and that H. aspersa has proven to be a sensitive instrument for a better risk assessment of environmental pollution.

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Acknowledgments

The present work was supported by grants from the Postgraduate Program in Health Sciences, University of Southern Santa Catarina (UNESC) and National Counsel of Technological and Scientific Development (CNPq).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratório de Imunologia e Mutagênese, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências da Saúde, Unidade Acadêmica de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade do Extremo Sul Catarinense, Av. Universitária, 1105 (UNESC), Bairro Universitário, Criciúma, SC, 88806-000, Brazil

    Daniela Dimer Leffa, Adriani Paganini Damiani & Vanessa Moraes de Andrade

  2. Laboratório de Genética Toxicológica, ULBRA, Canoas, RS, Brazil

    Juliana da Silva

  3. Laboratório de Ecologia de Paisagem, UNESC, Criciúma, SC, Brazil

    Jairo José Zocche

  4. Instituto de Física, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil

    Carla Eliete Iochims dos Santos, Liana Appel Boufleur & Johnny Ferraz Dias

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  1. Daniela Dimer Leffa
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  2. Adriani Paganini Damiani
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  3. Juliana da Silva
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  4. Jairo José Zocche
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  5. Carla Eliete Iochims dos Santos
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  8. Vanessa Moraes de Andrade
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Correspondence to Vanessa Moraes de Andrade.

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Leffa, D.D., Damiani, A.P., da Silva, J. et al. Evaluation of the Genotoxic Potential of the Mineral Coal Tailings Through the Helix aspersa (Müller, 1774). Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 59, 614–621 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-010-9512-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-010-9512-7

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