Chronic bioassays of chlorinated humic acids in B6C3F1 mice.

Humic acids (Fluka), chlorinated to carbon:chlorine (C:Cl) ratios of 1:1 and 1:0.3, were administered to B6C3F1 mice, 50 males and 50 females per group, in the drinking water at a total organic carbon (TOC) level of 0.5 g/L. The mice were 6 to 8 weeks old at the beginning of the bioassays. The doses used were based on short-term (8 weeks) evaluations for toxicity, palatability, and weight gain. The chronic bioassays included the following control groups: unchlorinated humic acids (0.5 g/L), no-treatment (100 males and 100 females), dibromoethane (DBE, 2.0 mM in drinking water; positive control) and 0.44% sodium chloride in drinking water, i.e., at the same concentration as those receiving chlorinated humic acids. The chlorinated humic acids were prepared freshly and chemically assayed once per week. All chemicals were, with the exception of DBE, administered for 24 months; DBE was administered for 18 months. The volumes of solutions consumed were measured once weekly. All treatment groups showed normal weight gain except the DBE group. At the completion of exposure, the animals were sacrificed and necropsied, and tissue sections were taken for histopathology. No markedly significant increases in tumor incidences were evident in any of the organs and tissues examined in the chlorinated humic acid groups compared to unchlorinated humic acids and the no-treatment control groups. DBE caused the expected high incidence of squamous carcinomas of the forestomach. The chlorinated humic acids tested contained direct-acting alkylating agents, based on their reactivity with p-nitrobenzylpyridine (PNBP), and showed mutagenic activity in S. typhimurium.