[Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons on play grounds--presentation of current status, toxicologic viewpoints and attempt at risk assessment for benzo(a)pyrene].

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) have become an ubiquitous upper soil component in consequence of industrialisation involving a multitude of combustion processes. Meaningful contaminations can be found on child playgrounds, for example. These may enter into the organism of small children playing there, as children are capable of unintentionally swallowing minute quantities of foreign matter - be that as it may, we cannot exclude such a possibility. Suitable rules are mandatory in particular to prevent such occurrences in an area that is susceptible to them, as preventive health care should always be the order of the day. In the following article we report on the present scientific-toxicological state of the art, on update data on environmental pollution and reasons for a quantitative risk assessment for different paths of pollution.