Sealcoat on Driveways More Toxic Than Thought
Before you resurface and freshen up the macadam on the driveway to your house using coal-tar based sealcoats, you had better take note of new research that found those sealcoats are more toxic than anyone ever thought before now.
According to research done at Oregon State University,
sealcoats are polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs, which are common products of any type of combustion, and have been shown to be toxic to birds, fish, amphibians, plants and mammals, including humans.
Studies done with zebrafish – an animal model that closely resembles human reaction to toxic chemicals – showed developmental toxicity to embryos. [1] [CJF emphasis]
Moreover, they found that PAHs in sealcoats were thirty times more toxic than common PAHS that previously were studies by the U.S. Geological Survey! Just imagine how many kids play basketball on those driveways.
However, there is a difference between sealants sold in geographic locations of the USA. Sealcoats sold in the western part of the USA are based on asphalt, which is less toxic than the coal-ash based sealcoats sold in the Midwest and eastern part of the country. Did you know that?
Here’s information every homeowner ought to know and consider when it comes to their driveway:
A 2011 report from the USGS outlined how PAH compounds from sealcoat products can find their way into soils, storm waters, ponds, streams, lakes, and even house dust, as the compounds are tracked by foot, abraded by car tires, washed by rain and volatilize into the air. They reported that the house dust in residences adjacent to pavement that had been treated with a coal tar-based sealcoat had PAH concentrations 25 times higher than those normally found in house dust. [1] [CJF emphasis]
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