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more_legal_areas creosoteCreosote is the term for a group of products created by high-temperature treatment of beech and other woods, coal or the residue of a creosote bush. The varieties of creosote include wood creosote, coal tar creosote, coal tar, coal tar pitch and coal tar pitch volatiles. The types of creosote differ in color, consistency and usage.
Wood creosote has been used as a disinfectant, a laxative and a cough suppressant, but is rarely used this way today. Coal tar products are used in pesticides, insecticides, animal and bird repellants and fungicides.
However, the most common creosote pollutant is coal tar creosote, which is mostly used in wood preservation. More than 300 chemicals have been identified in coal tar creosote, and it may contain another 10,000, many of which are harmful to living organisms. Through its use in the wood preservation industry, coal tar creosote enters soil and makes its way into the ground water, where it takes years to break down. This creosote is then passed on to plants and animals that absorb and drink the polluted water.
People become exposed to creosote through a variety of methods. Certain dietary supplements contain the leaves from the creosote bush; consuming large amounts of these supplements could cause liver damage. People who work with treated wood products or live in houses built with treated wood have the chance of skin or air contact with creosote, which could lead to skin irritation, eye burns, or diseases of the respiratory tract.
Consumption of polluted food and water also leads to creosote exposure, which can have serious health consequences. Long-term ingestion of substances containing high levels of the chemical mixture has been known to cause burning in the mouth and throat, stomach pains, severe skin irritation, convulsions, and kidney or liver problems.
Creosote pollution has also been linked to cancer of the skin or scrotum. Chimney sweeps who have worked cleaning creosote buildup from the inside of chimneys have a higher incidence of scrotal and skin cancer after long-term creosote exposure. The relationship between the chemical mixture and cancer has prompted the Environmental Protection Agency to report that creosote is a probable human carcinogen.
Because of the threat of cancer and other health problems related to creosote pollution, the government requires notification after spills or accidental releases of more than one pound of creosote into the environment. There are also limits for day and week emissions of creosotes in the workplace, created by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in an effort to curb creosote pollution and long-term exposure to the harmful substance.
During the winter months, many people will start trying to heat up their homes. Wood burning stoves has become a more popular way of providing heat, but there are ways of preventing creosote buildup by burning a hot fire for 15 to 30 minutes. In addit...