Twenty chemicals were tested for their ability to induce sister chromatid exchanges (SCEs) and chromosomal aberrations (ABs) in cultured Chinese hamster ovary cells (CHO). These chemicals were tested with and without an added metabolic activation system (rat liver S9 fraction). Four chemicals were negative in both assays, 1 induced ABs only, and 15 were positive for SCEs; 6 of these 15 also induced ABs. The effect of cell harvest time on the ability to detect the induction of chromosomal aberrations was examined for six chemicals. Five of these had caused at least one of the following: cell cycle delay, aberrations observed in first division metaphase cells in the SCE assay, or a weak response in the standard AB assay (10-12-hr growth period). Three chemicals, chlorinated trisodium phosphate, 1,2-dibromo-3-chloropropane, and tetrakis(hydroxymethyl)phosphonium chloride, were positive using both the standard and extended harvest times. N-Nitrosodimethylamine and diphenhydramine HCl were only positive using an extended harvest time, and malonaldehyde was negative using both standard and extended harvest times.