Does Your Community Care About Clean Water?
That’s a fair question. Ask your community leaders what they know about coal tar sealant pollution and then ask them what they are willing to do about it. Many choose to wait for a federal mandate, but some are willing to push the national agenda from the bottom up. Waiting is merely denying reality and […]
Chicago Council Committee Hears Industry Singing Same Old Song
Last week the City of Chicago’s Finance Committee listened to comments by representatives of the coal tar sealant industry about the City’s proposed ordinance to ban the use of coal tar pavement sealants. Many are based upon flimsy logic and myths perpetuated for years. As reported in today’s Daily Whale, the Pavement Coatings Technology Council […]
Chicago Department of Public Health, Physicians Back Coal Tar Sealant Action in Nation’s Third Largest City
Since last week, two influential medical groups wrote letters urging action be taken on the use of coal tar sealants in Chicago. Last Friday, Dr. Cortland Lohff, Medical Director for Environment Health at the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH), delivered a letter supporting some kind of reduction in the use of this toxic product […]
Study Shows Coal Tar Sealants Could Be Causing Cancer Among a “Large Number” of Americans
Baylor University unleashed social media with its announcement of a publication by university toxicologist, Dr. Spencer Williams. The press release was entitled, Proximity to Coal-Tar-Sealed Pavement Raises Risk of Cancer, Study Finds. While the twitter buzz is nothing like a teen craze, it has been significant for an issue that has long been ignored. Hundreds […]
Decoding the Coal Tar Sealant-to-Cancer Connection
A recent scientific journal came out with little attention or really no media coverage at all. While there may be a variety of reasons why, my hunch is that part of the reason is that it contains some pretty complex and difficult concepts to communicate. Well I thought I would try to decipher a bit […]
New Study: Cancer Risks Shown “Significant” For Children Near Coal Tar Sealant Dust/Dirt
In a just released study with the USGS, a Baylor toxicologist has shown that cancer risks to children (ages 0 to 6) with exposures to dust and soil contaminated with coal tar sealants are significant. As stated below, soil is the “primary driver of risk,” a medium that has been ignored by many to date. […]
Chicago Sun-Times: Coal Tar Sealcoat May Be Cancer Time Bomb
A recent article in the Chicago Sun-Times covered an informational meeting led by Cassandra McKinney, stormwater engineer for McHenry County, Illinois. This is the same county where the USGS found some of its highest PAH reading on a residential driveway. The meeting was held in Lake County, which is also in suburban Chicago. Ms. McKinney […]
Cancer Risks of Coal Tar Sealants Exposed
As reported early on this site, a Baylor University toxicologist has run the numbers for cancer risk for children exposed to dust and soil contaminated from coal tar sealants. A summary video is now available on this website if you want to learn more. Dr. Spencer Williams details findings where he used the concentrations of […]
USGS Video of Congressional Briefing Now Online
PAHs Increasing in Urban U.S. Lakes from Laura Parsons on Vimeo. In mid-April the United States Geological Survey presented the science of coal tar sealant pollution to Congress. Earlier we summarized the presentation in a blog posted later that day entitled, “USGS Shines as PCTC Whines in DC”. As you can see above, the video of this […]
Coal Tar = “Dangerous Waste” Says WAC
The State of Washington Senate is currently considering a coal tar sealant ban. In February the ban passed the House of Representatives. Did you know that the main ingredient, coal tar is currently on a list of “dangerous wastes” under Washington State law? About a dozen of coal tar’s PAH constituents are already on the […]