The derived TEQ data from 2008 were plotted together (see
Fig. 1a–c). In each case, the left-hand bar shows the acute toxicity
summation and the right-hand bar the carcinogenic potential
summation. In Fig. 1a, the acute toxicity potential is highest in
the eastern Irish Sea and off the Tyne and Humber estuaries in the
North Sea. Fig. 1b and c show plots for two of the disposal sites
studied, in Tees Bay and at Rame Head (outside Plymouth Sound) .
As can be seen from Fig. 1c, sediments off the Tees are dominated
by low MW PAH, while around Rame Head (Fig. 1b) the proportion
of high MW PAHs is much greater. These simple graphical illustrations
summarise the concentration data for ten individual low MW
PAHs and groups and ten individual high MW PAHs in relation to
their potential impacts on sediment-dwelling organisms