What general effects can water pollutants have on organisms?
Water pollutants can have many different effects on organisms, always depending on the pollutant and the organism in question. Here the general effects a pollutant can have are discussed. Genotoxicity Many compounds that enter the body of an organism are known to cause damage to DNA. These compounds are called genotoxins, due to their genotoxic effect. Usually when pollutants damage DNA a natural repair system in an organism will return it to its usual state, but when this goes wrong for any particular reason cells with damaged DNA can divide. Mutant cells are than produced and the defect can spread, causing the offspring of the organism in question to have serious defects that are often very damaging to their health. Examples of genotoxins are PAH’s, aflatoxin and vinyl chloride. In all of these genotoxins it is not the original compound that reacts with DNA, for this is relatively stable. Highly reactive short-lived products produced from the original compound by enzymes usually caus
