Isolation of Stable Mutagenic Photodecomposition Products of Benzo(a)pyrene by Thin-Layer Chromatography

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) are widespread in the atmosphere, the soil, waterways and oceans, as well as in the food chain. Major sources of PAH include emissions from transportation systems, heat and power generating plants, refuse burning and industrial processes (1,2,3). A significant number of these PAH are known to be carcinogenic (2,4,5). Epidemiological studies indicate that the environment is a significant factor in the incidence of human cancer, although many of the specific causal agents remain to be identified. One widely studied PAH i s benzo(a)pyrene (BaP), which is a carcinogen, and one of the most common PAH contaminants of the environment (6). Occupational exposure t o BaP has been documented (4). Mailath and Morik (7) studied the effect of sunlight and dark-room storage on BaP and reported that six and eight compounds, respectively, were observed when BaP was exposed to sunlight or left in the dark. There have been several reports of the degradation of BaP adsorbed on soot or smoke particles (8,9,10).