On Using the Allium Test for Waterbody Biomonitoring in the Murmansk Region

Abstract

Having started in the 1930-40s, the industrial development of the Kola North has caused elevated environmental pollution of the area’s water bodies. The pollutants contained in dust emissions, dissolved substances and waste waters require their genotoxicity to be estimated using in vivo assays. This article addresses the effect of pollutants entering the water bodies of the Murmansk region together with mining waste, which leads to a decrease in mitotic activity and an increase in chromosomal abnormalities in the roots of Allium cepa L. The evaluated waters showed an effect of reducing the mitotic index and the appearance of chromosomal aberrations; this may be associated with the presence of compounds in the water, such as mining waste.