Auramine O has been reported to be carcinogenic in rats and mice. It has been reported as positive in some mutagenicity studies and negative in others. We have found that commercial auramine O is positive in inducing DNA damage in vivo in liver, kidney, and bone marrow cells. DNA damage was also induced after treatment in vitro of a human cell line. Commercial auramine O was also clearly positive for sister chromatid exchange (SCE) induction in vivo in bone marrow cells. Purified auramine was negative in terms of DNA damage and SCE induction. Our commercial auramine O had Michler's ketone as a major contaminant. This compound was capable of inducing both DNA fragmentation and an increase of SCE.