Creosote, wood

Small nematodes may also be cleared in carbolxylene or beech-wood creosote and mounted in permount or balsam. This method is particularly good for hookworm adults. 

Expectorants are the drugs which increase the production of bronchial secretion and reduce its viscosity to facilitate its removal by coughing. Expectorants can stimulate the expulsion of respiratory secretion either directly or reflexly. Certain volatile oils of plant origin such as oil of lemon, anise, eucalyptus by steam inhalation route increase the respiratory secretion by its direct action. Another compound, guaiacol, which is obtained from wood creosote or synthetically prepared, directly increase bronchial secretion and syrup tolu (Tolu balsum) act in same way. 

Creosote is the common name applied to variety of products, including coal tar, coal tar pitch, wood creosote, and coal tar creosote. These materials are created by the high temperature treatment of hardwoods or coal, or from the sap of the creosote bush (Larrea tridentata). Some of these compounds are used medicinally, as disinfectants or laxatives, and to treat skin diseases. They are also used as coatings to prevent the decomposition of wood, as insecticides, and fungicides. 

The decomposition of lignin into aromatic repeat units is a long practiced art that reached its zenith around 1800 a.d. Production of chemicals by wood pyrolysis was extensively practiced until, between 1750 and 1850 a.d., coal slowly displaced wood as the major chemical source available to man. Wood is usually pyrolyzed at 260-4 lO C and lignin at 300-440 C to produce 50 wt % charcoal, 10-15% tar, and lesser amounts of 2-propanone, ethanoic acid, and methanol [16-181. The tar is often called wood creosote and is a complex mixture of substituted phenols and aromatics. It contains phenol, 2- and 4-methylphenol, 2,4-dimethylphenol, 2-methoxyphenol, 4-methyl-2-methoxyphenol, and 4-ethyl-2-methoxyphenol [19]. 

It is obtained as a product of wood distillation, being present in wood creosote as a di-methyl ether. It may be prepared by the general methods of synthesizing phenols. Its most interesting synthesis is by the oxidation of phenol by fusion with sodium hydroxide, but not with potassium hydroxide. It is a white crystalline compound, m.p. 132 , easily soluble in water. It is readily oxidized especially when in alkaline solution. The chief uses of it are due to this strong reducing property. 

Ogata N. B. T, Shibata T. (1993) Demonstration of Antidiairheal and Antimotility Effects of Wood Creosote. Phalmacol. 46, 173-180. 

Chemical Abstracts Service Registry Number CAS 8001-58-9 (Coal tar creosote) CAS 8021-39-4 (Wood creosote)... 

Synonyms Coal tar oil Brick oil Heavy oil Naphthalene oil Liquid pitch Wood creosote... 

Oils,—These are of two kinds the collectors which have high affinities for sulphides and the frothers. Hard-wood creosote is the standard collective oil but owing to its expense other wood-, coal-, and oil-distillate products are substituted for it either entirely or in part, coal tar being a favorite. On silver minerals... 

Properties Faintly yellowish, limpid, oily liquid or yellow crystals aromatic odor. D 1.1395, mp 27.9C, bp 205C, flash p 180F (82.2C) (OC). Constitutes 60-90% of beech wood creosote. Soluble in alcohol, ether, chloroform, and glacial acetic acid moderately soluble in water. Combustible. 

Use Hardwood pitch, wood creosote, heavy high-boiling wood oils, wood-preserving oils, paint thinners. 

Tar and tar oils, products of wood distillation Turpentine, produced by distillation of pine gum or pine wood Valonia extract Wattle extract Wood alcohol, natural Wood creosote Wood distillates... 

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

Levels of Significant Exposure to Wood Creosote—Oral 3-4 Proposed Metabolic Scheme for Benzo[a]pyrene... 

Levels of Significant Exposure to Wood Creosote—Oral... 

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. 

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... 

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. 

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... 

Rats and mice fed a large amount of wood creosote at one time had convulsions and died. Rats fed a smaller amount of wood creosote for a long period developed kidney and liver problems, and died. Exposure to coal tar products through the skin has resulted in skin cancer in animals. Laboratory animals that ate food containing coal tar developed cancer of the lungs, liver, and stomach, and animals exposed to coal tar in the air developed lung and skin cancer. 

Drinking chaparral tea may result in exposure to wood creosote by swallowing. If you drink chaparral tea you may expose your children. Creosote is also found in coal tar shampoos used for anti-dandruff therapy, in coal tar ointments used for treatment of eczematous dermatitis and in mineral coal tar for the treatment of psoriasis. You may expose your children to creosote if... 

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. 

Figure 2-1. Origin of Wood Creosotes and Coal Tar Products...

Exposure to wood creosotes appears to be confined to ingestion of plant extracts and dermal contact with the plants. Most of the toxicity data for oral exposure to wood creosotes comes from reports of individuals who ingested plant extracts such as chaparral, an herbal extract prepared by grinding leaves of the creosote bush, or seirogan , a Japanese folk remedy made with wood creosote that is typically taken for stomachaches. 

The derivation of the MRL is further complicated by the variability of the mixture s composition among wood creosote and coal tar creosote samples and the differences in mode of action of the individual components. The mixtures composition is dependent on the sources and preparation parameters of wood creosote and coal tar creosote and, as a result, the creosote components are rarely consistent in their type and concentration. Hence, toxicological evaluations of one creosote sample, for instance, are most likely inadequate for extrapolation to other creosote samples, unless their compositions are similar. An example of the composition variability among creosote samples was presented by Weyand et al. (1991). In that study, the concentrations of several PAHs were analyzed in four samples of manufactured gas plant (MGP) residue, a form of coal tar. All of the PAHs identified exhibited 2- to nearly 20-fold differences in concentration among the four samples. Benzo[a]pyrene, a component whose individual toxicity has been examined extensively, ranged from nondetectable levels (detection limit 0.3 g/kg) to 1.7, 6.4, and 3.9 g/kg of coal tar. Other studies that illustrate the variability of samples include Wrench and Britten (1975), Niemeier et al. (1988), and Emmett et al. (1981). 

This profile addresses the toxicological and toxicokinetics database for several substances, wood creosote, coal tar creosote, coal tar, coal tar pitch, and coal tar pitch volatiles, whose production stems from the incomplete combustion or pyrolysis of carbon-containing materials. Creosotes, coal tar, coal tar pitch, and coal tar pitch volatiles are composed of many individual compounds of varying physical and chemical characteristics. In addition, the composition of each, although referred to by specific name (e.g., wood creosote or coal tar creosote) is not consistent. For instance, the components and properties of the mixture depend on the temperature of the destructive distillation (carbonization) and on the nature of the carbon-containing material used as a feedstock for combustion. 

Throughout this profile, every attempt is made to specify the characteristics of the creosote, coal tar, coal tar pitch, or coal tar pitch volatiles under discussion, and to indicate which health effects may be expected to be common to two or more forms. The intent of this profile is to discuss the creosotes, coal tar, coal tar pitch, and coal tar pitch volatiles. Therefore, the health effects of the individual components (e.g., PAHs, phenol, or others) will not be discussed in great detail even though it is likely that the toxicity of wood creosote, coal tar creosote, coal tar, coal tar pitch, and coal tar pitch volatiles is due largely to these major individual components. However, it is understood that the toxicity of the individual components may not... 

No reports were located of death in humans attributed to inhalation exposure to wood creosote or the creosote bush by inhalation. 

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