Coal tar and paving products.The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, n.pr an institute of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that is responsible for assuring safe and healthful working conditions and for developing standards of safety and health. (NIOSH NIOSH National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health, see there NIOSH Recommendations for Safety & Health Standards Agent NIOSH REL*/OSHA PEL† Health effects ) has a partnership relationship with the asphalt paving and roofing industries and their associated unions. Our partners saw in the EHP EHP abbr. 1. effective horsepower 2. electric horsepower Focus article "Paving Paradise: The Peril of Impervious Surfaces" (Frazer 2005) the statement on page A459: "Asphalt is one concern, as it contains coal tar pitch coal tar pitch a cause of severe hepatic necrosis in pigs that nibble at pitch-coated pens and floors. The syndrome includes anemia, jaundice and emaciation. , a recognized human carcinogen carcinogen: see cancer. carcinogen Agent that can cause cancer. Exposure to one or more carcinogens, including certain chemicals, radiation, and certain viruses, can initiate cancer under conditions not completely understood. ...." Our partners asked us if we could help them address this statement. By definition, asphalt is a petroleum product and contains no coal tar. However, some pavement-repair products and sealants may contain coal tar. NIOSH did not find any evidence of coal tar in U.S. asphalt in our hazard review Health Effects of Occupational Exposure to Asphalt (NIOSH 2000. The author declares he has no competing financial interests. Editor's note: The following erratum [Latin, Error.] The term used in the Latin formula for the assignment of mistakes made in a case. After reviewing a case, if a judge decides that there was no error, he or she indicates so by replying, "In nollo est erratum was published in the January 2006 issue (Environ Health Perspect 114:A21): EHP regrets the incorrect and unintentional inference in "Paving Paradise: The Peril of Impervious Surfaces" [Environ Health Perspect 113:A456-A462 (2005)] that coal tar pitch is used in the actual hot-mix asphalt used to pave roads. Coal tar pitch is instead used in many sealcoat formulations used atop asphalt pavement. Findings published in the 1 August 2005 issue of Environmental Science & Technology suggest, in fact, that coal tar-based parking lot sealant may be a major contributor to stream loads of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, including many known carcinogens. REFERENCES Frazer L. 2005. Paving paradise: the peril of impervious surfaces. Environ Health Perspect 113:A457-A462. NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health). 2000. Health Effects of Occupational Exposure to Asphalt, NIOSH Publication no. 2001-110). Available: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/pdfs/01-110.pdf [accessed 3 March 2006]. Paul A. Schulte Education and Information Division National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), agency of the U.S. Public Health Service since 1973, with headquarters in Atlanta; it was established in 1946 as the Communicable Disease Center. Cincinnati, Ohio E-mail: pas4@cdc.gov |
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