Coating Association’s Failed Pledge Unpalatable
The American Coatings Association (ACA) appears to have either a short memory or a change of heart. In 2011, their own website announced “ACA will not be advocating against state and local coal tar driveway sealer bans” because of “concern that these sealants emit high concentrations of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) that may impact fish […]
Illinois Sealant Industry Claims Mired in Tired Rhetoric
The sealant industry, presumably backed by some influential business and labor organizations, recently came out with a 2-page summary of why they think a coal tar sealant ban is a bad idea in Illinois. Those reasons are, for the most part, desperate retreads of old industry myths mired in the past with little basis in […]
‘Crack’ Filling in Great Lakes Region is Non-Profit’s Next Effort
Just this week, the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) announced the grant recipient for an effort to reduce the use of coal tar sealants in the Great Lakes States of the US and the Province of Ontario in Canada. Minnesota is outside of the scope of this effort since their statewide ban went into effect […]
Library of Good Coal Tar Reads Now Available
Websites and links come and go and sometimes good information goes with it. So in order to preserve past efforts and make learning about this topic a little easier, a collection of documents is assembled here to assist the reader. Let us know through the contact form if there are kinds of documents you are […]
Two New Site Features: Gallery of Posts and Labels
As promised, there have been a few more upgrades to this site to make it easier to find what you are looking for. The first, as you see in the graphic above, is a “Post Gallery.” It is located at the bottom of the home page. Each post, or article has a thumbnail graphic representing […]
Improvements to Coal Tar Free America Site in Progress
After 3 years of continuous tinkering with this site’s look and feel, it was time for a major overhaul. What you see today is, hopefully, an improved interface, easier navigation, better viewing on all types of devices, and some aids for both frequent and first time visitors. While there are still a few annoyances which […]
Chicagoland: Home of the Most Toxic Creeks in the US?
In a manner of speaking, yes. While there are many chemical and biological measures of stream health, one carcinogenic constituent, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), are showing up with higher numbers, over a broader area than anywhere else found in the U.S. The land use draining to these creeks are not factories, waste mounds and brownfields, […]
An MLK Day Meditation
New Year May Bring Broader Ban Authority for Chicagoland Local Governments and Beyond
A few years ago, Boone, North Carolina seemed poised to pass the first ban of coal tar sealers in that state and the first in the southeastern part of the US. Not only did the community experience a significant fish kill in one of their streams due to the runoff from a freshly applied coal […]
Suspect’s Fingerprints Found in Minnesota Stormwater Ponds; May Be Throughout US
MPCA staff sampling sediment pond in South St. Paul, MN. Photo by Judy Crane. The State of Minnesota has found the fingerprints, chemical fingerprints, of a suspected pollutant, coal tar pavement sealants in several Minnesota stormwater ponds. Most likely these same fingerprints would be found in much of the United States and Canada where coal […]