Coal-tar creosote

The fuels consumed in the fire were treated wood, penta, and creosote (coal tars). Both are considered combustible liquids, with flash points above 160° F (CC). Vapor conditions within the headspaces of tanks can, however, reach explosive conditions, and the introduction of an ignition source resulted in spontaneous combustion. Under ideal conditions, creosote burns similar to crude oil, and in standard lab burn tests, has an average burn rate of 4 mm/min. There is no data on the burn rate of penta however, its vapors would have likely burned at much slower rates and a series of complex chemical transformations would have occurred. 

Com Sugar Solution Com Symp Com Symp Solution Corrosive Mercury Chloride Corrosive Sublimate Cottonseed Oil Coumaphos Crankcase Oil Crankcase Oil Creosote, Coal Tar Creosote Oil... 

CREOSOTE, COAL TAR Creosote Oil, Dead Oil Combustible Liquid 2 2 0... 

Phenols and Cresols Carbolic Oil Creosote, Coal Tar Cresols... 

Chrysene occurs as a product of combustion of fossil fuels and has been detected in automobile exhaust. Chrysene has also been detected in air samples collected from a variety of regions nationally and internationally. The concentrations were dependent on proximity to nearby sources of pollution such as traffic highways and industries, and was also dependent on seasons (generally higher concentrations were noted in winter months). Chrysene has also been detected in cigarette smoke and in other kinds of soot and smoke samples (carbon black soot, wood smoke, and soot from premixed acetylene oxygen flames). It has been detected as a component in petroleum products including clarified oil, solvents, waxes, tar oil, petrolatum, creosote, coal tar, cracked petroleum residue, extracts of bituminous coal, extracts from shale, petroleum asphalts, and coal tar pitch. 

TOXICOLOGICAL PROFILE FOR WOOD CREOSOTE, COAL TAR CREOSOTE, COAL TAR, COAL TAR PITCH, AND COAL TAR PITCH VOLATILES... 

Genotoxicity of Coal Tar Creosote, Coal Tar, Coal Tar Pitch, or Coal Tar Pitch Volatiles In Vivo... 

Analytical Methods for Determining Creosote/Coal Tar-Derived PAH Components in... 

This public health statement tells you about wood creosote, coal tar creosote, coal tar, coal tar pitch, and coal tar pitch volatiles and the effects of exposure. 

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) identifies the most serious hazardous waste sites in the nation. These sites make up the National Priorities List (NPL) and are the sites targeted for long-term federal cleanup activities. Coal tar creosote, coal tar, and coal tar pitch have been found in at least 46 of the 1,613 current or former NPL sites. However, the total number of NPL sites evaluated for these substances is not known. As more sites are evaluated, the sites at which coal tar creosote, coal tar, and coal tar pitch are found may increase. This information is important because exposure to coal tar creosote, coal tar, coal tar pitch, or coal tar pitch volatiles may harm you and because these sites may be sources of exposure. 

If you are exposed to wood creosote, coal tar creosote, coal tar, coal tar pitch, or coal tar pitch volatiles, many factors determine whether you ll be harmed. These factors include the dose (how much), the duration (how long), and how you come in contact with them. You must also consider the other chemicals you re exposed to and your age, sex, diet, family traits, lifestyle, and state of health. 

Creosote is the name used for a variety of products that are mixtures of many chemicals. Wood creosotes are derived from the resin from leaves of the creosote bush (Larrea, referred to herein as creosote bush resin) and beechwood (Feigns, referred to herein as beechwood creosote). Coal tars are by-products of the carbonization of coal to produce coke or natural gas. Coal tar... 

The major chemicals in coal tar creosote, coal tar, and coal tar pitch that can cause harmful health effects are polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), phenol, and cresols. Coal tar pitch volatiles vary depending on the makeup of the coal tar product that is being heated. About 300 chemicals have been identified in coal tar creosote, but as many as 10,000 other chemicals may be in this mixture. Because coal tar creosote is the major type found in the environment and at hazardous waste sites in the United States, we will emphasize its effects on human health in this profile. The health effects of coal tar and coal tar pitch will also be described. 

This profile is specifically about the toxicity of wood creosote, coal tar creosote, coal tar, coal tar pitch, and coal tar pitch volatiles, so we will not discuss in detail the health effects of individual chemicals in them, such as PAHs or phenol. In the chapters describing what happens to creosote in the environment and exposure to creosote, we will discuss some of the individual chemicals or groups of chemicals (such as PAHs) because many of the tests done in the scientific laboratories can tell us which of these chemicals are present in the soil, water, and air. 

The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) Toxicological Profile for Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (1995), the ATSDR Toxicological Profile for Cresols (1992), and the ATSDR Toxicological Profile for Phenol (1998) provide more information on these chemicals. For more information on the chemical and physical properties of creosotes, coal tar, coal tar pitch, and coal tar pitch volatiles, see Chapter 4. For more information on these substances in the environment, see Chapters 5 and 6. 

No information is available on what happens to wood creosote when it enters the environment. Coal tar creosote, coal tar, coal tar pitch, and coal tar pitch volatiles do not occur in the environment naturally, but are by-products produced in coke or gas manufacturing plants using high-temperature processes. Coal tar creosote is released to water and soil mainly as a result of its use in the wood preservation industry. In the past, waste water from wood-treatment facilities was often discharged to unlined lagoons where it formed a sludge. Also, companies that... 

No medical test will determine if you have been exposed to wood creosote, coal tar creosote, coal tar, coal tar pitch mixtures, or coal tar pitch volatiles. However, chemicals contained in creosote (such as PAHs or phenol) may be detected and measured in body tissues (organs, muscle, or fat), urine, or blood after exposure to creosote. Typically, this may be done for employees in industry who work with coal tar creosote, coal tar, and coal tar pitch to monitor their exposure. For example, the metabolite 1-hydroxypyrene, which can be detected in urine after exposure to pyrene, has been used to test for exposure to creosote because pyrene is a component of creosote. This test would determine only whether you have recently been exposed to pyrene, but cannot positively identify the source of the pyrene as creosote or accurately predict whether you will experience any adverse health effects. Moreover, analyses of urine samples for 1-hydroxypyrene are not normally done in a doctor s office because they require special equipment. 

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