Let’s face it, those in the technical fields speak languages of concentrations and quantities which mystify much of the public. The news media often tries to help with the communications gap with comparisons to familiar objects like swimming pools, salt and familiar distances to objects.
In the coal tar sealer realm, people often ask how much is used. In Austin a rule of thumb has been about 1 gallon of sealer per person per year. In some other communities it is closer to two gallons per per per year. That helps.
But we have also thrown out bewildering units.
“Up to 85 million gallons of coal tar sealant is applied to pavement each year,” quotes one source. How much is a million gallons? Is that a quantity the public can understand?
Annual US coal tar sealer use covers 440 square kilometers. How big is that?
Here’s another stab at it:
Since we typically don’t drive around the world, here’s another way to think of the prolific use of this polluting product in our nation:
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| Annual US Coal Tar Sealer use would cover a 26 lane highway from New York City to Los Angeles. Only 18 lanes shown. |
In some ways it would be better if we did have one massive, polluting scar on our landscape. It would be easier to control its negative effects. But unfortunately this material is spread where we live, shop and play. What will you do to reduce the use of coal tar sealers? Read more here.