PAHs are widespread in the environment and pose a substantial risk to humans. Benzo[a]pyrene is a representative PAHs that has been extensively studied and well documented for its carcinogenicity (IARC 2010).
The possibility of simultaneous or sequential exposure to mixtures of PAHs and metals is higher compared to other toxicants due to their ubiquitous presence in the environment, examples-automobile exhaust, cigarette smoke and exposure in the occupational environment. This co-contaminant exposure has attracted significant attention due to their known carcinogenic potential and systemic effects. The literature survey of mixture toxicity of PAHs and metals suggest that
1. The mixture toxicity of PAHs and metals are not studied extensively. The available data are limited to only of interaction between B[a]P and metals on genotoxicity and metabolism. The interaction effect between PAHs and metals is inconsistent and inconclusive.
2. Most of the interaction studies did not use any predictive models to assess the mixture toxicity and the data are restricted to binary