Austin bans coal-tar sealants
The Austin City Council voted last Thursday night to ban the use of coal tar sealants. This makes Austin the first city in the country to impose such a ban.
You may remember that Barton Springs pool was closed for three months back in 2003 after the Austin American Statesman ran a series of reports about pollution in the pool. The Statesman’s report claimed that 19th century coal gas plants may have left buried waste that was the source of the pollution.
The city subsequently began searching for the source of the contamination that eventually led to a parking lot near Barton Creek. It seems that the toxic chemicles were coming from the parking lot sealant - a coal tar based type. Pavement sealants are surface finishes for parking lots, driveways and airport runways that can provide an attractive and protective barrier coat from weather and chemicals.
According to the city’s press release,
The City has banned the coal tar-based products because they are a potent source of PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons), an organic contaminant known to be carcinogenic and toxic to aquatic life. One of the ingredients in significant quantities is included in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) list of 12 Persistent Bioaccumulative and Toxic Chemicals (PBT). According to the EPA, “PBTs are highly toxic, long-lasting substances that can build up in the food chain to levels that are harmful to human and ecosystem health.” One researcher from MD Anderson Cancer Center, Dr. Robin Fuchs-Young, also spoke in favor of the ban saying, “There is no reason to put additional carcinogens into the environment if a less toxic alternative is available.”
The ban will take effect January 1, 2006.