Genotoxicidad y Mutagenicidad en aguas residuales de la Curtiembre San Faustino, (Cúcuta) Norte de Santander, Colombia.

Abstract

The leather tanning industries impacts harmfully the ecosystem by the considerable amounts of organic and toxic waste they generate, such as salts and heavy metals; being the last ones, highly toxic, according to the IARC (international agency for researching on cancer) because it induces mutagenic and genotoxic effects in humans. The problem is presented by the poor management of waste, in addition to the lack of culture in the preservation and the environmental care, the lack of information and not being aware of the consequences that are generated, being one of the most relevant this contaminated water resource can be used indiscriminately by the population; for this reason, it is necessary to estimate the environmental impact generated. The importance of this study lies on the possibility of heavy metals arriving to the Pamplonita River, and contaminate it, due the tanneries waste from Cúcuta, as the results made over wastewater of Tasajero tannery show. In this study we identified the heavy metals (Cr, Pb, Cd, Fe, Zn, Cu) present in the wastewater from San Faustino leather tanning industries y Cúcuta city, using the atomic absorption spectroscopy technique; concentrations are found to be harmful to humans. Genotoxicity was determined, using the comet assay and mutagenicity, through the Ames test, with the strains of Salmonella typhimurium TA98 and TA100. It was found that wastewater from San Faustino leather tannery causes DNA damage in human lymphocytes; similarly, it was found that these waters induce an increase in mutagenicity.