7085

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 7085
• Author: Eisler, R.
• Title: Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Hazards to Fish, Wildlife, and Invertebrates
• USFW Year: 1987.
• USFW - Doc Type: A Synoptic Review.
• Copyright Material: NO

responses (Neff 1985). However, few generalizations can be made about the
class of PAH compounds because of the extreme variability in toxicity and
physicochemical properties of PAHs and their various effects on individual
species (Lee and Grant 1981).
PAHs are widely-distributed in the environment, almost ubiquitous, and
have been detected in animal and plant tissues, sediments, soils, air, surface
water, drinking water, industrial effluents, ambient river water, well water,
and groundwater (EPA 1980). Man probably has always been exposed to PAHs from
the natural background level in soils and plants (Harrison et al. 1975);
avoiding exposure to nanogram quantities of these substances on a daily basis
is now considered essentially impossible for all living resources (Dipple
1985). Ever since benzo(a)pyrene was recognized as a carcinogen at the
beginning of this century, the presence of it and of other PAHs in the
environment has received continuous attention. As one consequence, many
reviews have been published on ecological and toxicological aspects of PAY in
the environment, with special reference to their carcinogenic properties.
In this report, I summarize selected data on environmental aspects of
PAHs, emphasizing PAH effects to aquatic and wildlife resources. This brief
review is part of a continuing series prepared in response to informational
requests from environmental specialists of the U. S. Fish and Wildlife
Service.
1 Harrison et al. 1975);
( Barnett (1976); Suess (1976); Gelboin and Ts'o
(1978a, 1978b, 1981); Jackim and Lake (1978); Jones and Freudenthal (1978); Lo
and Sandi (1978); Jones and Leber (1979); Neff (1979, 1982a, 1982b, 1985);
Tsang and Griffin (1979); Bjorseth and Dennis (1980); EPA (1980); Cooke and
Dennis (1981, 1983, 1984); Futoma et al. (1981); Lee and Grant (1981); Pucknat
(1981); Sims and Grover (1981); Stegemen (1981); Cooke et al. (1982); Richards
and Jackson (1982); Couch et al. (1983); Edwards (1983); Grimmer (1983);
Quaghebeur et al. (1983); Sims and Overcash (1983); Couch and Harshbarger
(1985); Harvey (1985); Johnson et al. (1985); Sugimura (1986).
2