Yesterday US News and World Report covered the recent USGS study showing the levels of toxic chemicals in Austin’s lake sediments have dropped nearly 60% since the City implemented a ban of coal tar pavement sealers. This is the first national news outlet to pick up on this story.
Last week Congressman Lloyd Doggett held a news conference with USGS Researchers Drs. Barbara Mahler and Peter Van Metre to announce the findings. The ban, implemented in 2006, turned around a 40 year rise even with Austin’s continued population growth of nearly 300,000 people since the ban went into effect. Critics often cite automobile traffic for the source of the problem, which could not be the case here.
