Abstract
The goal of this research is to evaluate the effectiveness of innovative drinking-water treatments designed to remove
toxic and mutagenic organic micropollutants from lake waters used for human consumption. The widely used
adsorption on granular activated carbon (GAC) filter technique was compared with the more innovative resin column
techniques (XAD-4 and Ambersorb-563) and with the advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) with UV/O3 and UV/O3/
H2O2. The water samples, collected from lake Como, treated with these techniques were analysed for mutagenic activity
using Ames assay, toxicity using bioluminescent bacteria and organic compound were characterized using the GC–MS
technique. The results found a decrease of the mutagenic and toxic activities of the lake water after adsorption on GAC
and resins, while the AOP process generally increased these parameters. The absence of mutagenic activity was found
only when a GAC adsorption step was performed in addition to the AOP process. Similar results were obtained by the
toxicological and chemical analyses. In addition, the GC–MS analysis identified some possible mutagenic agents.