Structure-activity relationships for alkyl-phenanthrenes support two independent but interacting synergistic models for PAC mixture potency.

Multiple lines of evidence at whole animal, cellular and molecular levels implicate polycyclic aromatic compounds (PACs) with three rings as drivers of crude oil toxicity to developing fish. Phenanthrene (P0) and its alkylated homologs (C1- through C4-phenanthrenes) comprise the most prominent subfraction of tricyclic PACs in crude oils. Among this family, P0 has been studied intensively, with more limited detail available for the C4-phenanthrene 1-methyl-7-isopropyl-phenanthrene (1-M,7-IP, or retene).

Biological Responses of Pacific Herring Embryos to Crude Oil Are Quantifiable at Exposure Levels Below Conventional Limits of Quantitation for PAHs in Water and Tissues.

Pacific herring (), a cornerstone of marine food webs, generally spawn on marine macroalgae in shallow nearshore areas that are disproportionately at risk from oil spills. Herring embryos are also highly susceptible to toxicity from chemicals leaching from oil stranded in intertidal and subtidal zones. The water-soluble components of crude oil trigger an adverse outcome pathway that involves disruption of the physiological functions of cardiomyocytes in the embryonic herring heart.

Bioretention filtration prevents acute mortality and reduces chronic toxicity for early life stage coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) episodically exposed to urban stormwater runoff.

As the human population of western North America continues to expand, widespread patterns of urban growth pose increasingly existential threats to certain wild stocks of Pacific salmon and steelhead (Oncorhynchus sp.). Rainfall previously absorbed into the soils of forests and grasslands falls instead on pavement and other hardened surfaces.

Crude oil exposure of early life stages of Atlantic haddock suggests threshold levels for developmental toxicity as low as 0.1 μg total polyaromatic hydrocarbon (TPAH)/L.

Atlantic haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus) embryos bind dispersed crude oil droplets to the eggshell and are consequently highly susceptible to toxicity from spilled oil. We established thresholds for developmental toxicity and identified any potential long-term or latent adverse effects that could impair the growth and survival of individuals. Embryos were exposed to oil for eight days (10, 80 and 300 μg oil/L, equivalent to 0.