The conversion of cyclopento[c,d]pyrene (CPP) to forms which are mutagenic to Salmonella typhimurium strain TA98 has been demonstrated in systems which generate peroxyl radicals. The systems examined included prostaglandin H synthase (PHS) and arachidonic acid, 15-hydroperoxy-5,8,11,13-eicosatetraenoic acid (15-HPETE) and hematin, and the autoxidation of the sulfite ion. In all cases concentration-dependent activation of CPP was observed at hydrocarbon concentrations between 10 and 100 microM. Neither CPP nor the peroxyl radical systems alone were mutagenic or toxic to the tester strain. The use of hydroxygen peroxide with PHS, a peroxidative system which does not yield peroxyl radicals, does not activate CPP. The involvement of a CPP epoxide was examined using 1,1,1-trichloropropene-2,3-oxide. Addition of this epoxide hydrolase inhibitor to incubations of CPP with the PHS/arachidonic acid system resulted in a 210% increase in induced revertants relative to the system in the absence of the inhibitor. The addition of pure rat liver microsomal epoxide hydrolase to incubations of CPP with the 15-HPETE/hematin system resulted in a concentration-dependent loss of mutagenicity, further supporting the intermediacy of an epoxide. The site of metabolism of CPP is the cyclopenteno double bond based on the formation of products which display distinct pyrene-type fluorescence spectra. The involvement of the cyclopenteno double bond also is shown by the inability of the 15-HPETE/hematin system to activate 3,4-dihydrocyclopenteno[c,d]pyrene as a mutagen. CPP is the first environmentally-relevant carcinogenic hydrocarbon found to be activated directly by peroxyl radical systems without prior biotransformation to a diol derivative by the cytochrome P-450 system. These findings expand the range of potentially toxic substrates to be considered for activation by peroxyl radical pathways.