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Baccharis trimera (Less.) DC as Genotoxicity Indicator of Exposure to Coal and Emissions from a Thermal Power Plant

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Abstract

During coal combustion, hazardous elements are discharged that impair environmental quality. Plant cover is the first available surface for the atmospheric pollutants in terrestrial ecosystems. The aim of this study was to evaluate genotoxicity in the aqueous extract of the native plant, Baccharis trimera, exposed to coal and emissions from a thermal power plant (coal-fired power plant in Candiota, Brazil), correlating seasonality, wind tunnel predominance, and presence of inorganic elements. The presence of inorganic elements in the aerial parts of B. trimera was analyzed by particle-induced X-ray emission (PIXE) spectrometry, and genotoxicity was evaluated by ex vivo comet assay. The genotoxic effects of aqueous extracts of B. trimera from four sites located in the area around power plant were analyzed by comet assay in peripheral human lymphocytes. Winter samples showed greater levels of metals than summer samples. Genotoxicity was detected in B. trimera extracts collected from the region exposed to extraction and burning coal. Extracts from the site impacted by the dominant wind induced more damage to DNA than those from other sites. Based on our data, we can suggest that in winter the inorganic elements from extraction and burning of coal and carried through the wind tunnel were responsible for the genotoxicity observed in aqueous extract of B. trimera.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Érico Gomes for help in the composition of the map of the collection sites as well as the Department of Environment CGTEE for providing wind-direction data. This work was supported by the Universidade Luterana do Brazil (ULBRA), Universidade da Região da Campanha (URCAMP), Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), and Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul (FAPERGS), Brazil.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade da Região da Campanha (URCAMP), Bagé, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil

    Ana Paula Simões Menezes

  2. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Celular e Molecular Aplicada à Saúde (PPGBioSaúde), Universidade Luterana do Brasil (ULBRA), Canoas, RS, 92425-900, Brazil

    Ana Paula Simões Menezes, Juliana Da Silva, Joice Roloff, Juliana Reyes & Alexandre de Barros Falcão Ferraz

  3. Laboratório de Implantação Iônica, Instituto de Física, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil

    Rafaela Debastiani & Johnny F. Dias

  4. Programa de Pós-Graduação em Genética e Biologia Molecular, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Porto Alegre, Brazil

    Paula Rohr

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  1. Ana Paula Simões Menezes
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Correspondence to Juliana Da Silva or Alexandre de Barros Falcão Ferraz.

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Menezes, A.P.S., Da Silva, J., Roloff, J. et al. Baccharis trimera (Less.) DC as Genotoxicity Indicator of Exposure to Coal and Emissions from a Thermal Power Plant. Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 65, 434–441 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-013-9918-0

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