River pollution in the Kosovo: Cyto- and genotoxic effects of water samples in the primary rat hepatocyte assay

Abstract

The actual stage of the development of Kosovo is characterized by the concerning levels of environmental pollution and the serious health problems attributed to the emission of pollutants into air, soil and water. In this context, river pollution is one of the main threats due to the discharge of untreated urban and industrial waste waters that affect the quality of surface and ground water. In addition, urban and agricultural discharges are affecting the river water quality. In this article, we are presenting data on the cyto- and genotoxic potential of water samples from three rivers (Sitnica, Drenica and Lepenci) in the Kosovo as determined in the cultures of primary rat hepatocytes. Sitnica and Drenica (as the most important Sitnica tributary) drain into the Black Sea, whereas the Lepenci river drains into the Aegean Sea. These rivers are polluted mainly by industry in the Kosovo together with municipal discharges. The results of this study show that the samples have primarily a cytotoxic potential by causing necrotic cell death that was not accompanied by any increase of the rate of micronucleated cells as an indicator for a genotoxic potential. The different effects in 2 consecutive years can be attributed to variations in physico-chemical parameters such as water levels, intake of pollutants, and so on, indicating the need for continuous monitoring and risk assessment.

River degradation impacts fish assemblages in Kosovo’s Ibër basin

“…Furthermore, bioaccumulation problems have been documented in the literature for the Drenice, Sitnica and Ibër and its downstream waterbodies; Pb exceeded the MPC in Squalius, Barbus, and Chondrostoma samples from the West Morava, Squalius and Barbus samples from the Ibër (Milošković & Simić, 2023). Also, in Kosovo, there is evidence of accumulation of serious toxics in fish, such as PCBs, known for their genotoxic, mutagenic, and carcinogenic effects (Alija 2018;Asllani et al 2019). Since river-caught fish are commonly consumed by local human populations we must stress that this problem also represents a potential human health risk.…”