Intact sediment cores, including their surface layers, were used in simulated field exposure tests of juvenile guppies (Poecilia reticulata) to creosote-contaminated sediments. Mixed-function oxygenase activity was induced in the fish after 43 days of exposure to environmentally realistic, sublethal concentrations of creosote-related compounds. An average 50-fold induction in the cytochrome P-450-IA1 was found in the liver in the absence of any histopathological lesions. The possibility that a threshold level for proliferative liver changes was not reached is discussed in the light of the observed biochemical activation.