ACETALDEHYDE: THE MUTAGENIC ACTIVITY OF ITS PHOTOOXIDATION PRODUCTS.

In the study reported here, we exposed Salmonella typhimurium strain TA100 to the species present in irradiated CH//3CHO/NO/NO//2/air mixtures. The experiments were conducted in a 22. 7m**3 flow-mode Teflon smog chamber at reactant concentrations in the high ppb range. Exposures were conducted both at long extent of reaction where significant concentrations of organic peroxy-type compounds were expected to be present, and at short extent of reaction where NO is still present. Assuming that the magnitude of the response is dependent on the amount of acetaldehyde converted, this study indicates that acetaldehyde photooxidation products can account for a large fraction of the response observed in the C//3H//6/NO//x photooxidation system.