Abstract
Pesticides and persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are a serious environmental problem for almost all countries of the world. The toxic and mutagenic activity of samples of natural water and water extracts of soils collected near the storage sites of old and prohibited pesticides located in the villages of Kyzylkairat, Amangeldy, Beskainar, Belbulak, Enbekshi. Territories of comparison Basshi village (Altyn Emel National Park) and near farmland, where pesticides were used in the past (Taukaraturk village, Almaty region) was investigated. Allium cepa L. was used as a biological test system. The mitotic activity and the frequency of disturbances at different stages of mitosis in onion root meristem were evaluated. Chemical analysis showed that in all soil samples the total content of 24 POPsPesticides exceeds the maximum permissible concentration (MPC). It was established that the level of mitotic activity of Allium cepa cells in all samples was slightly reduced compared with the control. In soil samples, the frequency of micronuclei in interphase cells (0.22-3.25%) is higher than in water samples (0.36-0.99%) (control 0.41%). The revealed increased level of cytogenetic disorders correlates with the total content of organochlorine pesticides.