Major Step Toward a Coal Tar Free Washington!

News tonight that the State of Washington is one step closer to passing the nation's first statewide ban of coal tar sealants!  Earlier today HB1721 passed the House of Representatives and will now move on to the Senate. 

A copy of the bill can be found at the following link: HB 1721.  It prohibits the sale of products containing coal tar after January 1, 2012 and the application of such products after July 1, 2012.

Our Babies Are Exposed to Tar At Unsafe Levels at School

Some might say this is a bold statement coming from a non-toxicologist.  Well let's do some old fashioned "connect-a-dot" with what we know and see if you might agree.

Potent Mutagen

We showed previously that CTS are a potent mutagen, right out of the bucket.  Just How Toxic is CTS?

Uncle Sam Says So on Soils Near CTS

First there is general agreement among scientists that children are the most susceptible part of our population to environmental contaminants. 

For years it was hoped that the federal government toxicologists would just look at the safety of children exposed to coal tar sealants.  A few years ago I discovered that they already have, but it was coincidental.  A school district outside of Austin, Texas (Leander) was looking to build a new elementary school.  They purchased a property that met their needs except that it had been a chemical research facility.  When parents found out, many were very upset.  So upset that they got the attention of their elected officials, who in turn brought in the feds (more specifically the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry ATSDR, who routinely does this kind of work)).

They tested the soil and analyzed the risks.  They found high levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the soil near where there were parking lots and the source was determined to be coal tar pavement sealants.  The levels were sufficient to increase cancer risk in a low to moderate range if it remained at the proposed site.  As a result soils were removed under the description of "remediaton." Link to School Study

Higher Levels (& Risks) Are Commonplace on Pavement

The USGS in their study of indoor dust revealed that it was common to find the concentration of PAHs 10 times higher than what was found at the Leander School site (Link to USGS Study).  So what is the effect of these levels?  At minimum they would have a moderate cancer risk increase.

Independent Toxicologists Agree with Exposure

In 2009 the Austin Independent School District began to look into this issue at their schools.  Below is a link to an interview that was made just as the study was getting started.  Since then their toxicologist consultant found that there exist 5 complete CTS exposure pathways from paved surface to child or adult!  An exposure pathway is defined by the ATSDR as follows:

The route a substance takes from its source (where it began) to its end point (where it ends), and how people can come into contact with (or get exposed to) it. An exposure pathway has five parts: a source of contamination (such as an abandoned business); an environmental media and transport mechanism (such as movement through groundwater); a point of exposure (such as a private well); a route of exposure (eating, drinking, breathing, or touching), and a receptor population (people potentially or actually exposed). When all five parts are present, the exposure pathway is termed a completed exposure pathway.

Complete Exposure Pathways at Schools from Coal Tar Sealants

So according to a professional toxicologist all five parts are in play at our schools. A link to this study is here: Toxicologist Findings About CTS at Schools.  Video Interview Concerning CTS at Austin Public Schools  The second half of their study, which presumably will have concentrations, risk assessment, and remediation recommendations has not yet been released.

Use on School Facilities Throughout US

It would be reasonable to assume that if coal tar sealant use is frequent in a community then it would be used at the community's schools.  That has been my observation in communities across the country.  The US Department of Education tallies the number of elementary and secondary schools in the US is just under 100,000 facilities.  While in some cities it has been as high as 50% of the schools use CTS  (Austin, Half of AISD Schools Have Coal Tar Contaminated Lots, Oak Hill Gazette), the national average may be between 10% to 25%.  This would be at least 10,000 schools with CTS on their lots or playgrounds!

The Dots

So here's what we know:

• CTS is a mutagen
• CTS increases cancer risk at schools
• Toxicologists find 5 complete exposure pathways at schools
• Higher levels are expected than those that have been studied
• There are more than 10,000 schools nationwide that may have this on their paved surfaces

EPA's Recommended Action

While the EPA has not directly addressed CTS at schools, here's what the EPA is saying about keeping toxins out of schools:

However, irrespective of these guidelines, EPA does recommend that districts periodically inspect existing schools for potential environmental health and safety risks using tools designed for that purpose such as EPA's Healthy School Environments Assessment Tool (HealthySEAT) or the NIOSH Safety Checklist Program for Schools.  Where deficiencies are found, steps to reduce student and staff exposure to potential hazards should be identified and implemented, to the maximum extent practical. 

According to the guidelines, toxic material use (like coal tar sealants) in a playground area is a deficiency.  Therefore effort should be made to correct these potential hazards.  We'd better get busy, there is a lot of work to be done.  Maybe we could start by eliminating the use of this product at our schools.

Holy Tar Balls! Most Coal Tar for CTS is Imported!

Yes, sorry to say it is true!  Put in its simpliest terms: we import what should be hazardous waste to spread all over our nation to make our driving surfaces look prettier and last longer.  What year is this?

Years ago, industry petitioned the EPA so coal tar could get an exemption from hazardous waste rules because if they didn't, they said our landfills would fill up coal tar.  Now some 20 years later, the basis for that argument, as well as the production of coke byproducts (coal tar) have moved offshore.  

In 2003 about 2/3 of US supplies were imported and the foremost use is in the production of aluminum.  With increased environmental scrutiny, the percentage imported is expected to increase.  Details are available in this industry report (page 19):
http://www.coalonline.info/site/coalonline/content/browser/81369/Carbon-products-and-organic-chemicals-from-coal#

This point was illustrated by the sealant industry's coal tar shortage in 2006.  The supply ran low here in the US of A because of factory problems outside our borders!
http://www.forconstructionpros.com/print/Pavement/Features/What-Happened-to-Coal-Tar-in-2006/3FCP4081

So just where is it coming from?  Best I can tell Mexico, China and India.  We can all debate the merits of a global economy, but importing 3rd world toxic waste to the US?  Aren't we smarter than that?

Tar Heel Town Tackles Toxic Sealant

In July 2010, Boone, North Carolina was affected by a fish kill from fresh, washed-off sealant applied before a rain storm.  Nearly 100 fish were killed from this event (the industry claims only 12).  The Upper Watauga Riverkeepers mobilized, produced a video, and asked local officials to ban the material.  Unfortunately, the Town's lawyers were uncertain of the rights of individual communities to ban anything in the State of North Carolina.  Apparently it is within the State's jurisdiction, but not a municipality's.

So on February 15, 2011 the Town of Boone enacted an ordinance to control the use of all sealants with the most stringent being on coal tar.  Highlights of the restrictions are:

• All sealant applications require a permit from the Town.
• No sealant applied if more than a 10% chance of rain in the next 48 hours.
• No CTS applied if more than a 20% chance of rain 7 full days after application completion.
• On CTS applications, filter media required for drainage inlets.
• On CTS applications near floodplains, filter media required on downgradient perimeter.

Good luck Boone and congrats to the Upper Watauga Riverkeepers!

CliffsNotes Version of USGS Research Now Available



Illustration from New USGS Publication



Over the last few years, the research into the problem of coal tar sealants has covered a variety of specific areas including the wash off, wear off, parking lot dust, household dust, biological effects and lake cores.  All of these studies have increased our understanding of the sealants and the challenge they present in the environment.  Until now it has been a little tough for the less scientific among us to track all of these studies.



Now a new publication summarizes much of the work done to date by the USGS and others in an easy to read format with a lot less technical jargon. This document would be great for anyone wanting to go into more detail about the subject without wading too deeply into the science and statistics of a technical journal article.

Here are some key ideas from the document:

• Dust from pavement with coal-tar-based sealcoat has greatly elevated PAH concentrations compared to dust from unsealed pavement.
• Coal-tar-based sealcoat is the largest source of PAH contamination to 40 urban lakes studied, accounting for one-half of all PAH inputs.
• Coal-tar-based sealcoat use is the primary cause of upward trends in PAHs, since the 1960s, in urban lake sediment.
• Residences adjacent to parking lots with coal-tar-based sealcoat have PAH concentrations in house dust that are 25 times higher than those in house dust in residences adjacent to parking lots without coal-tar-based sealcoat.
• PAHs move from a sealcoated surface into our environment by many mechanisms: storm runoff, adhesion to tires, wind, foot traffic, and volatilization.

And some take away factoids:

Coal-tar pitch is 50 percent or more PAHs by weight and is known to cause cancer in humans (International Agency for Research on Cancer, 1980). 
Coal-tar-based sealcoat products typically are 20 to 35 percent coal-tar pitch. 
Product analyses indicate that coal-tar-based sealcoat products contain about 1,000 times more PAHs than sealcoat products with an asphalt base (City of Austin, 2005)
PAH concentrations in the coal-tar-based sealcoat product are about 1,000 times higher than in the asphalt-based product (more than 50,000 milligrams per kilogram [mg/kg] in coal-tar-based products and 50 mg/kg in asphalt-based products.
Concentrations of PAHs in dust swept from sealed parking lots in central and eastern U.S. cities, where coal-tar-based-sealcoat use dominates, were about 1,000 times higher than in western U.S. cities.

USGS Publication Link

CTS Out in the State of Washington?

Yesterday was a public hearing for the potential ban of coal tar pavement sealants in the entire State of Washington.  The legislation was sponsored by Representative David Frockt of Seattle.  If successful, it would be the nation's first state to ban this product!  The State of Minnesota introduced similar legislation on this topic last year and may bring it forward again this year.

Mo McBroom of the Washington Environmental Council said, "This issue is ripe, it's ready to go. There are compelling reasons to move on this now."  This story has been picked up by the Associated Press and has been republished in several online publications including Forbes Magazine.

Perhaps one step closer to a Coal Tar Free America!

 Forbes Magazine

Victoria Advocate

Your Driveway vs. Nation's Dirtiest River

One of Nation's Dirtiest Rivers in Brooklyn

Hey it's Super Bowl week, so why not some friendly competition?  Your coal tar sealed driveway vs. the Nation's dirtiest river.  Which one is worse?

Why compare these two?  Because the chemicals with the greatest concentration and concern at the Gowanus River are PAHs, (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) the same major toxic ingredient in coal tar sealants.  There are other chemicals but PAHs dominate.

Listen to these recent statements from the EPA about this river:

"It's not to the point where we're saying no boating, but we're saying if you're going to boat, be very careful, and maybe don't take your little kids with you," said Environmental Protection Agency Regional Administrator Judith Enck.

"Be very careful not to fall in," said Enck, who also urged people not to eat fish or crabs from the canal. "Do everything possible to avoid contact with the water."

"The Gowanus Canal is one of the most contaminated water bodies in the country," Enck said.

"Contamination...is widespread and may threaten people's health, particularly if they eat fish or crabs from the canal or have repeated contact with the canal water or sediment."

"There is no question that the Gowanus Canal-a major industrial waterway since the 1860s-is in need of a major cleanup," said Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Cas Holloway...."

“The next step is the review of options for cleaning up the Gowanus, so we can move ahead with a full-scale cleanup of the canal that will result in a revitalized urban waterway.”  

So now that we know how bad it is from the EPA and State of New York, how does it compare to coal tar sealants?

The highest level of PAHs in the Gowanus River: 45,000 mg/kg or parts per million (ppm) or 4.5% with an average of 0.35%. Link to EPA Report

The highest level in coal tar sealant scrapings in Austin, TX: 233,000 ppm (23%) with a mean of 77,000 ppm (7.7%)! 

In other words, the average concentration of the worst chemical family in one of the worst rivers in America, that the EPA wants us to be very careful around is 20 TIMES LESS than the typical value on every coal tar sealed driveway, parking lot, and playground.  So keep your little children away from the river and have them go play on the playground or driveway?

The EPA deems the risks to humans and the environment at the Gowanus River "unacceptable." Link to EPA Report

This comparison has also been made to other hazardous waste sites by the USGS in the following graphic:

I guess it's just as Michael Hawthorne said in the Chicago Tribune a few weeks ago: Too toxic for the dump, but ok on your driveway.  This river will get a Superfund cleanup; you might get an apology....some day.

Guess your driveway wins, but it reality, we all lose on this one.