Coal-Tar Pavement Sealants
Local Information
In November 2009, the Springfield-Greene County Environmental Advisory Board presented City Council with a letter regarding the Board’s concerns about the use of coal-tar based pavement sealants. The issue was referred to the City Council Community Involvement Committee for further consideration.
- Environmental Advisory Board Letter (457k)
- City Letter to Local Sealant Businesses and Responses (1 mb)
Presentations to City Council
- 12/16/09 - Todd Wagner, City of Springfield Principal Storm Water Engineer (713k)
- 1/15/10 - Tom Ennis, City of Austin, Tx (4.36 mb)
- 2/24/10 - Pavement Coatings Technology Council (9.72 mb)
- 8/3/10 - Dr. Barbara Mahler and Dr. Peter Van Metre, USGS (8 mb). Watch the video
Local Stream Monitoring Data for PAHs:
- USGS 1999-2000 Study of Pearson and Wilsons Creeks
- Summary of Jones Branch Sediment Monitoring by MDNR
Current Status:
The Community Involvement Committee drafted a resolution that was put before City Council on 12/13/10 and failed to pass. The Storm Water Services Division is contracting with MSU-OEWRI to conduct a study of PAHs in stream and lake sediments in Springfield, anticipated to be completed by fall 2011.
- Failed Resolution
- Watch the video of the 12/13/10 City Council meeting (go to Bookmark 2010-316)
What are polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)?
Potential human health impacts of PAHs
- CERCLA Priority List of Hazardous Substances
- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 11th Report on Carcinogens
Potential environmental impacts of PAHs
(Some studies are available as abstracts only but can be accessed at the Missouri State University library)
- Nonadditive effects of PAHs on Early Vertebrate Development: mechanisms and implications for risk assessment (Toxicological Sciences, 2008)
- Perspective on Ecotoxicology of PAHs to Fish (Human and Ecological Risk Assessment: An International Journal, 2007)
- The Effects of Coal Tar Based Pavement Sealer on Amphibian Development and Metamorphosis (Ecotoxicology, 2006)
- Evaluation of Fish Early Life-Stage Toxicity Models of Chronic Embryonic Exposures to Complex Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Mixtures (Toxicological Sciences, 2004)
- EPA Ecological Toxicity Information on PAHs
Pavement sealants as a source of PAHs
(Some studies are available as abstracts only but can be accessed at the Missouri State University library)
- Assessment of Water Quality of Runoff from Sealed Asphalt Surfaces (USEPA, Sept 2011)
- USGS Fact Sheet - Summary of USGS Research
- Contribution of PAHs from Coal-Tar Pavement Sealcoat and Other Sources to 40 U.S. Lakes (Science of the Total Environment, 2010)
- Contamination of Stormwater Pond Sediments by Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Minnesota (Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, March 2010)
- Influence of Coal-Tar Sealcoat and Other Carbonaceous Materials on Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon Loading in an Urban Watershed (Environmental Science & Technology, 2010)
- Coal-Tar-Based Parking Lot Sealcoat: An Unrecognized Source of PAH to Settled House Dust (Environmental Science & Technology, 2010)
- Concentrations of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Urban Stormwater, Madison, Wisconsin, 2005-08 (USGS, 2009)
- PAHs Underfoot: Contaminated Dust from Coal-Tar Sealcoated Pavement is Widespread in the United States (Environmental Science & Technology, 2009)
- Occurence of PAHs Below Coal-Tar-Sealed Parking Lots and Effects on Stream Benthic Macroinvertebrate Communities (Journal of the North American Benthological Society, 2007)
- Parking Lot Sealcoat: A Major Source of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Urban and Suburban Environments (United States Geological Survey, 2006)
- Parking Lot Sealcoat: An Unrecognized Source of Urban Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (Environmental Science & Technology, 2005)
- Response to Comment on “Parking Lot Sealcoat:
An Unrecognized Source of Urban Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons” (Environmental Science & Technology, 2006)
What other communities/states have done (the following is not a complete list)
- Austin, Tx Coal-Tar Sealant Ban
- Dane County, Wisconsin Coal-Tar Sealant Ban
- Washington, D.C. Coal-Tar Sealant Ban
- State of Minnesota Coal-Tar Sealant Legislation
- Centerville, MN Coal-Tar Sealant Ban
- White Bear Lake, MN Coal-Tar Sealant Ban
- Circle Pines, MN Coal-Tar Sealant Ban
- State of Washington
- Suffolk County, NY
