Let The Fish Do The Talking: Investigating Chemical Mixtures At Contaminated Sites

Creosote is a pesticide typically derived from coal tar and used to treat wood products like railroad ties, telephone poles and submerged pilings. Creosote is a complex mixture of thousands of chemicals, particularly polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and their derivates, many of which are carcinogenic and harmful to aquatic organisms. One major challenge in the regulation and management of complex mixtures like creosote is understanding which constituents in the mixture drive toxicity. This presentation will describe strategies to investigate mixture toxicity at a legacy creosote site using the biological responses of model organisms to field-collected mixtures to guide inquiry rather than a predetermined list of suspect chemicals.