Is PAH phototoxicity an ecologically irrelevant phenomenon?
Chapman, Peter*,1, McDonald, Blair1, 1 EVS Environmental Consultants, North Vancouver, B.C., Canada ABSTRACT- Photo-enhanced toxicity of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) is well demonstrated in laboratory and in a few in situ studies. Effects have been observed for multiple taxa and toxicological endpoints, and the mechanism of toxic action has been described. However, this phenomenon is ameliorated by physical, chemical and biotic factors; “the unanswered question…into the phototoxicity of contaminated sediment [and water] is whether phototoxicity is of ecological relevance or merely an interesting laboratory artifact” (Boese et al., 1999). To date there have been no studies that clearly and directly implicate PAH phototoxicity with adverse ecological effects in field populations. If phototoxic effects were present in natural environments at the same magnitude as those observed in published studies, large areas of shallow aquatic environments should be depauperate; yet this is
