Abstract
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in both sediment and brown bullhead catfish tissues from the Black River in Lorain County, Ohio, declined by 65% and 93%, respectively, between 1980 and 1982. Sediment PAHs declined an additional 99% by 1987, coincident with the closure of a coking facility in 1983. Contemporaneously, liver cancer in 3- to 4-year-old brown bullheads declined to about one-quarter the 1982 frequency (10% versus 39%) by 1987, while the percentage of livers without any proliferative lesions doubled (42% versus 20%). These changes were significant within age group. Our data affirm a cause-and-effect relationship between PAH exposure and liver cancer in wild fish. The data also support the efficacy of natural, unassisted remediation once the source of the pollution is eliminated.
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Selected References
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