Health Effects to Children from Coal Tar Sealants Susan Buchanan, MD, MPH University of Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health

Coal tar sealants “Coal-tar-based sealcoat” Marketed to protect and beautify asphalt pavement Potent source of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) Distributes to air, soils, streams and lakes, homes

Coal tar pitch driveway sealer Residue remaining after distillation of coal tar (a byproduct of the coking of coal) Black liquid sprayed onto the asphalt pavement Sealcoat used in the central, southern, and eastern U.S. commonly contains coal-tar pitch, (western U.S. - asphalt)

Coal tar pitch sealcoat Contains about 200 different PAHs 1,000 times higher PAH concentrations than asphalt- based sealcoat Hundreds of times higher than tire particles, used motor oil, or other urban sources At least seven PAHs are probable human carcinogens Coal tar pitch is a known human carcinogen

Dust from coal tar sealant Friction from vehicle  small dust particles of sealant Dust is transported by wind, rain, and snowplows to nearby soil Tracked into homes  house dust

Coal tar sealant dust Adjacent to parking lots with coal- tar-based sealcoat: – Concentrations of PAHs 25 times higher – Compared to residences with other types of pavement surfaces

Exposure to sealant dust 38 times greater lifetime dose living adjacent to coal-tar-sealcoated pavement One-half of that dose occurs during 0 to 6 years of age

Cancer risk from exposure to sealant dust Someone who spends the first 6 years of life living adjacent to coal-tar-sealed pavement: 25 times higher cancer risk compared to those with urban background exposure to PAHs USGS at it-health-risks-of-coal-tar-pavement-sealcoat/ it-health-risks-of-coal-tar-pavement-sealcoat/ US Dept of the Interior

Peter C. Van Metre, Michael S. Majewski, Barbara J. Mahler, William T. Foreman, Christopher L. Braun, Jennifer... Volatilization of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from coal-tar-sealed pavement Chemosphere, Volume 88, Issue 1, 2012, Inhalation of PAHs from coal tar sealed pavement

Cancer types Lung Skin Bladder Respiratory tract Urinary tract

Coal Tar Sealants Reduction Act of 2013 Introduced: Apr 18, 2013 Status:Referred to Committee on Apr 18, 2013 Prognosis: 0% chance of being enacted