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| This illustrates part of the problem at schools where PAHs can be absorbed through skin. |
In a letter sent to school superintendents and charter schools across the State of Minnesota, the head of the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA), Commissioner John Linc Stine, encouraged the leaders of schools to phase out the use of coal tar containing pavement products. This
is the broadest, furthest reaching action of its kind to date in the US.
While the press release focuses on positive stream effects and community cost savings with alternative products, perhaps the greatest benefit in the long run will be to children who attend these schools. Children are among the most sensitive in our population to environmental toxins. A video presentation on coal tar sealant dust exposure to children is on YouTube at this link. It is by a Baylor University toxicologist, who found that the risk is greater than 1 in 10,000 of a child getting cancer from sealant dust.
