ABSTRACT
Their ubiquitous environmental occurrence stems from their many sources, both natural and anthropogenic. As a general rule, the PAHs are produced by combustion, which can be natural, for example, forest fires, or anthropogenic, for example, combustion in automobiles. These substances have been shown to be widely distributed in aquatic sediments, water, air, plants, and animals. The interest in this group derives from this wide occurrence and the possible induction of cancer in organisms as a result.
