Nupur Mathur

Genotoxicity evaluation of hospital wastewaters.

In hospitals a large variety of substances are in use for medical purposes such as diagnostics and research. After application, diagnostic agents, disinfectants and excreted non-metabolized pharmaceuticals by patients reach the wastewater. Indeed, some of the substances found in wastewaters are genotoxic and are suspected to be a possible cause of the cancers observed in the last decades. Genotoxicity tests are an excellent means to study the toxicity and the risk associated with these releases. This paper points out the areas of concern for hospital wastewater disposal and reports the findings of genotoxicity tests for hospital effluents from 3 major hospitals in Delhi, namely All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Apollo and Escorts. Mutagenicity of hospital wastewaters from effluent treatment plants (before and after treatment) was studied. The results of this study show that the genotoxicity of hospital wastewaters is highly reduced after the treatment process. This study calls for establishment of advanced and effective effluent treatment plants in the hospitals, which are merely dumping the wastewaters in the municipal sewerage system. The results of this study call for further detailed study in this area.

Mushroom as a product and their role in mycoremediation

Mushroom has been used for consumption as product for a long time due to their flavor and richness in protein. Mushrooms are also known as mycoremediation tool because of their use in remediation of different types of pollutants. Mycoremediation relies on the efficient enzymes, produced by mushroom, for the degradation of various types of substrate and pollutants. Besides waste degradation, mushroom produced a vendible product for consumption. However, sometimes they absorb the pollutant in their mycelium (biosorption process) and cannot be consumed due to absorbed toxicants. This article reviews the achievement and current status of mycoremediation technology based on mushroom cultivation for the remediation of waste and also emphasizes on the importance of mushroom as product. This critical review is also focused on the safety aspects of mushroom cultivation on waste.

Genotoxicity of vegetables irrigated by industrial wastewater

Wastewater effluents from textile dyeing and printing industries of Sanganer are discharged directly, without any treatment, into Amani Shah Nallah drainage. The drainage water takes the dissolved toxicants to flora and fauna, including crops and seasonal vegetables, being grown in the land adjoining the Nallah drainage. Thus mutagenic potential of vegetables irrigated by the water of Amani Shah Nallah drainage was investigated in the present study. The vegetables irrigated by ground water from Sanganer have also been analyzed to determine possible adverse effects of these wastewater effluents on aqua duct.

Mycoremediation of Paper, Pulp and Cardboard Industrial Wastes and Pollutants

Paper and pulp industries can broadly be divided into three categories—(1) handmade paper industries, (2) mill-made paper industries and (3) cardboard industries. All of these industries utilise water in different stages of making paper which is later discharged to nearby water bodies due to which these are considered as a major cause of water pollution. These effluents possess very high BOD, COD and toxic substances. As paper can be recycled a limited number of times, pulp fibres accumulate in the nearby area in the form of sludge which not only pollutes the soil or land but also produces enormous odour. Mycoremediation technology is a great boon which will be helpful in improving the existing situation and to minimise environmental and health problems associated with paper industrial wastes and pollutants. Therefore, in this chapter, we have discussed about the types of wastes and pollutants generated by handmade paper, mill-made paper and cardboard industries. Besides this, we have discussed about the fungi, their enzymes and role of both in mycoremediation of these wastes. In this chapter, we have also explained the suitable types of bioreactor, availability of culture, inoculation techniques and factors affecting the process. This information provides a platform for the workers who are working in field of mycoremediation of paper and pulp industrial wastes.

Biotransformation of amide using Bacillus sp.: isolation strategy, strain characteristics and enzyme immobilization

Amidase hydrolases/acyltransferases are of considerable industrial interest due to potential applications in the production of useful hydroxamic acids. The test strain, capable of acetamide degradation, was isolated by an enrichment technique with acetamide as sole source of nitrogen. Based on morphology, physiological tests and biochemical tests, this isolate was identified as Bacillus sp. and on the basis of 16S Ribosomal ribonucleic acid sequence, a phylogenetic tree was drawn and was identified as Bacillus megaterium. Resting cells containing active acyltransferase enzyme were prepared and immobilized in the gel beads of sodium alginate, agar, polyacrylamide and polyvinyl alcohol–alginate. The beads were tested for acyltransferase using Iron (III) chloride reagents at 55°C and were found to be affected by substrate concentration, type of buffer, buffer pH and reaction temperature. These factors were optimized using sodium alginate immobilized beads. This study proved useful in understanding the technique of immobilization of acyltransferase enzyme, its operational stability and its importance in the synthesis of hydroxamic acid.

Handmade paper and cardboard industries: In health perspectives

Generally, handmade paper industries are considered as eco-friendly industries. These industries are known to use vegetable dyes which are thought to be safe and non-toxic. However, cardboard industries are considered as pollution-causing industries. The present study focuses on the genotoxic assessment of handmade paper and cardboard industry’s effluent by Ames test using Salmonella typhimurium TA 98 and TA 100 strains. On mutagenicity analysis, effluents of both industries were found to be mutagenic with either one strain of Salmonella typhimurium or with both. Besides this, no significant difference was observed in effluent of both small-scale and large-scale handmade paper industries. Moreover, mutagenic compounds reach the nearby water body i.e. Amani Shah Drainage through connecting drain. Discharging of untreated effluent not only deteriorates the water quality but also reaches the food chain when used for irrigating nearby fields. Workers of these industries may suffer various health hazards when they are exposed to mutagenic effluent without having any information about it. Hence, discharging of effluents should thus be restricted or the workers while handling mutagenic substances should at least take proper precautions.

Aerobic Treatment of Handmade Paper Industrial Effluents by White Rot Fungi

Modernization of handmade paper industries has led to increase in production capacity for fulfilling demand. This also leads to the use of chemicals and dyes to make attractive and colourful papers. These industries recycle white and coloured cotton rags procured from textile industries. After processing and making paper, these industries discharge large amount of effluent in nearby water sources and deteriorate quality of water. Therefore, it is an urgent need to treat waste water in order to reduce the effect on the human beings as well as on the environment. The present study deals with physicochemical and genotoxicological analysis of Large Scale Handmade Paper industrial (LS-HMP) and Small Scale Handmade Paper industrial (SS-HMP) effluents before and after treating them with White Rot Fungi (WRF) in nutrient amended and non-amended condition. SS-HMP and LS-HMP were found to possess basic pH i.e. 7.54 and 8 respectively. These industrial effluents were found to possess colour revealed by 11293.3 (SS-HMP) and 11880 (LS-HMP) colour units and high COD revealed by 1132.6mg/l (SS-HMP) and 12371.7mg/l (LS-HMP), on initial day which reduced significantly to the safe discharge limits by white rot fungi. Similarly, basepair and frameshift mutagenicity were reduced significantly on treatment. Among all WRF, P. chrysosporium was found to be equally effective in both nutrient amended and non-amended condition in reducing all parameters of SS-HMP and LS-HMP effluent. Thus, P. chrysosporium can be used for the treatment of handmade paper industrial effluent without nutrient supplementation

Toxicity assessment of popular baby skin care products from Indian market using microbial bioassays and chemical methods

Specialized cosmetic products for infant use are gaining a lot of popularity in the Indian as well as global market, as these products have become an inseparable part of modern urban lifestyle. Baby cosmetics are available in a wide range. They claim to be milder than similar products meant for adult use. However, these products need to be checked for their safety through a battery of assays based on biological systems, along with the ones based on chemical and physical protocols. This study attempts to test different baby cosmetic products using one prokaryotic and one eukaryotic assay system. Chemical protocols prescribed by cosmetic product controlling organizations of India are also used to estimate the quantity of harmful heavy metals like arsenic, lead and cadmium if present in the samples. Few of the products tested have shown significant toxicity as well as heavy metal content. The results hold a lot of importance keeping in mind the extra sensitivity of an infant body. It is further suggested that studies using cell based and in vivo test systems should be done to confirm the findings.

Assessment of mutagenicity caused by popular baby foods and baby plastic-ware products: An imperative study using microbial bioassays and migration analysis.

Specialized products for infants have become every parents first choice. Although these products claim to be safe and mild for infant use, yet there is a need to monitor them using different tools for mutagenicity detection to ensure further safety. In this study, a range of popular ready to eat and powdered baby foods, formula milk powders and attractive plasticware for infants were picked from the Indian market and tested for their mutagenicity using two microbial bioassays based on Salmonella typhimurium, viz., Ames bacterial reversion assay and fluctuation assay. Furthermore, chemical migration analysis was done on the most toxic baby food and baby plasticware samples as shown by the bioassays to detect possible leaching of Bisphenol a (BPA), lead and Di-2 ethyl hexyl phthalate (DEHP). It was surprising to find that the products made for the most risk-prone group in the society, i.e., infants have a significant potential to cause mutagenicity.

A Comparative Study of the Sensitivities of Salmonella typhimurium Strains TA 98, TA 100 and TA 102 to Hospital Waste Waters

Abstract Hospitals are a release source of many chemical compounds in their wastewaters. In the present study Salmonella typhimurium strains TA 98, TA 100 and TA 102 were analyzed for their sensitivity to hospital waste waters. The results of the study showed that hospital waste waters consists of mutagens causing frame shift mutations and base pair substitutions and amongst the three strains used in this study, TA 102 was most effective which along with TA 98 can be used for quick assessment of genotoxicity of hospital waste waters prior to its discharge. Genotoxic potential of hospital waste waters from five major hospitals located in Jaipur and Delhi was studied. Such waste waters should be treated prior to their discharge. The results of this study call for further detailed study in this area of research.