Reddening in the broad-line radio galaxy 3C 234

A measurement of the Paschen-alpha flux from the broad-line radio galaxy 3C 234 shows a line strong enough to demand reddening as a crucial part of the explanation of the observed hydrogen line ratios. Since the narrow-line region appears strongly photoionized and only slightly reddened, the obscuring material is neither in line of sight to this region nor between this region and the central source. A high-resolution profile of the forbidden line of oxygen III lambda 5007 shows attenuation of the red wing, consistent with obscuration of outflowing material that is moving directly away from the earth. An extrapolation of the observed optical continuum cannot provide the necessary ionization for even the narrow forbidden lines, but a continuum corrected for reddening can provide all of the ionizing photons and sufficient luminosity to explain the infrared emission. Existing radio and X-ray observations and optical polarimetry are discussed in the context of the suggested reddening.