Evaluation of genotoxicity, mutagenicity, estrogenicity and toxicity of the Jaguari, Atibáia and Piracicaba rivers under the influence of the Paulinia refinery.

Abstract

Industrialization presents countless benefits, but it is also associated with environmental actions such as constant emission of toxic substances into the environment. Industrial activities release several chemical products that contaminate the several physical environments such as soil, air and water. Refining industry represents an important sector of the economy, but on the other hand it produces effluents that can be rich in heavy metals and other hazardous inorganic compounds, besides a great variety of organic substances with potential to interact with living organisms. Among the organic contaminants derived from petroleum, the most important are the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). These compounds, as well as their by-products, are associated with the increased incidence of several types of cancer in man. Due to these factors, there has been a stimulus to the development and application of new techniques that are able to assess in an efficient manner the environmental components derived from human activities. Thus, the present project aims to assess the genotoxicity, estrogenicity and toxicity of the waters of the Jaquari, Atibaia and Piracicaba rivers, which are in a region under the influence of the Paulínia refinery activity. To evaluate the waters of these rivers, techniques using two test organisms highly indicated, such as Saccharomyces cerevisiae (yeast) and human liver hepatocellular carcinoma cell line (HepG2), will be used. With these two organisms it will be developed the comet assay and the micronucleus test in human liver hepatocellular carcinoma cell line and tests of estrogenicity, toxicity and dioxin-like with Saccharomyces cerevisiae. The results obtained will allow the estimation of possible dangers that chemical substances released by this type of industry present, furthermore, the results will also allow a better knowledge about the mode of action of these compounds on cells and genetic material of the exposed organisms.