Coal burning generates gases, particles, and condensation by-products that are harmful to soil, water, and to the atmosphere. The aim of this study was to characterize and identify the cytotoxic and mutagenic potential of soil samples from the cities of Aceguá, Bagé, Candiota and Pinheiro Machado, near a large coal-fired power plant. Our study describes soil characteristics and contributes to the evaluation of the genotoxic activity of coal mining and burning, using the Comet Assay and Micronucleus test in V79 cells, as well as mutagenicity assays with Salmonella typhimurium strains. Comet Assay results show that the winter soil samples of Candiota and Pinheiro Machado induced a significant increase of the Damage Index for cells, as well as for the Aceguá summer sample. The micronucleus test did not detect differences between cities and seasons. A component analysis indicates associations between results obtained in Comet Assay and Ti and phenanthene concentrations for Pinheiro Machado during the winter, and Al for Aceguá during the summer and Zn during the winter. Results of Salmonella/microsome assays were negative, only Candiota and Pinheiro Machado samples showed a statistical increase of his + colonies in TA102. Our work describes biological data on these cells exposed to coal-contaminated soil, confirming the sensitivity of the Comet Assay in V79 cells and Salmonella/microsome assay for the evaluation of the effects of complex mixtures. These findings help to understand the spatial distribution of contaminants in the local soil related to a power plant, which is important for planning public safety actions.

燃煤会产生对土壤、水和大气有害的气体、颗粒和冷凝副产品。本研究的目的是表征和鉴定来自大型燃煤电厂附近的 Aceguá、Bage、Candiota 和 Pinheiro Machado 市土壤样品的细胞毒性和致突变潜力。我们的研究描述了土壤特征，并有助于评估煤炭开采和燃烧的遗传毒性活性，在 V79 细胞中使用彗星试验和微核试验，以及鼠伤寒沙门氏菌的致突变性试验菌株。Comet Assay 结果表明 Candiota 和 Pinheiro Machado 的冬季土壤样品导致细胞损伤指数显着增加，Aceguá 夏季样品也显着增加。微核测试没有发现城市和季节之间的差异。成分分析表明，彗星分析所得结果与冬季 Pinheiro Machado 的 Ti 和菲浓度、夏季的 Aceguá 的 Al 和冬季的 Zn 之间存在关联。沙门氏菌/微粒体检测结果为阴性，只有 Candiota 和 Pinheiro Machado 样品显示 TA102 中 his + 菌落的统计增加。我们的工作描述了这些暴露于煤污染土壤的细胞的生物学数据，证实了彗星试验在 V79 细胞和沙门氏菌/微粒体分析用于评估复杂混合物的影响。这些发现有助于了解与发电厂相关的当地土壤中污染物的空间分布，这对于规划公共安全行动很重要。