FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts:
Edan Rotenberg, Super Law Group, 212-242-2355, edan@superlawgroup.com
Tina Posterli, Waterkeeper Alliance, tposterli@waterkeeper.org, 516-526-9371
EPA Proposes First-Time Measures to Restrict the use of Coal Tar Sealants
Groups call for complete ban on toxic substance that poisons ecosystems nationwide
NEW YORK, NY August 22, 2016 Waterkeeper Alliance, Conservation Law Foundation,
Our Childrens Earth Foundation, and Puget Soundkeeper commend the Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) for taking the first federal measures to restrict the use of coal tar
sealants in the United States. Coal tar sealants are dangerous products that poison
ecosystems nationwide, impose billions of dollars in cleanup costs on local governments, and
expose infants and children to a high risk of developing cancer. In 2019, EPA will propose that
industrial facilities that use coal tar sealants should be ineligible for coverage under the
agencys industrial stormwater multi-sector general permit (MSGP). EPAs permit covers more
than 2,000 federally regulated airports, factories, refineries, and other industrial sites across the
country.
EPAs measures were taken as the result of the settlement of a lawsuit filed by a broad national
coalition of environmental organizations, led by Waterkeeper Alliance and represented by Super
Law Group, Lawyers for Clean Water, and Conservation Law Foundation.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, as coal tar sealants applied to driveways and parking
lots age, they wear into small particles containing high levels of carcinogenic chemicals called
PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons). These small, toxic particles get tracked into homes
or incorporated into house dust. This poses a threat to all people, but particularly to children
who crawl or play on the floor and put hands and objects in their mouths. Exposed children
under the age of 6 are at severely increased risk of later developing lung, skin, bladder, and
respiratory cancers.
In addition to contaminating homes, coal tar sealant particles also wash away during storms.
The USGS reports that coal tar sealants are the largest active source of PAHs in urban ponds,
rivers, lakes, and other waterbodies, are lethal to many aquatic species, and cause severe harm
to aquatic ecosystems.
Coal tar sealants also impose billions of dollars in liabilities on local governments, which can get
stuck with the high costs of disposing of sediments from storm sewers, catch basins, ditches,
and ponds that have been contaminated by these toxic sealants. For example, according to the
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency, there are an estimated 15,000 stormwater ponds just in

Minnesotas Twin Cities metropolitan area. The state agency and local towns have found that
the sediments building up in many ponds are highly contaminated with PAHs from coal tar
sealants. Conservative estimates suggest management costs for just this set of ponds in
Minnesota will eventually total in the billions of dollars. The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency
also reports that some cities cannot afford those costs and are putting off needed maintenance
of their stormwater systems, increasing flood risks to public and private properties.
EPA deserves everyones thanks for taking a small but significant step towards ending the use
of a substance that is wreaking havoc with our waters, environment and human health, said
Edan Rotenberg of Super Law Group, who represented the environmental organizations in their
settlement with EPA. At the same time, the EPA is years behind where it should be. EPA has
legal authority to stop the sale and use of these sealants. The science shows unequivocally
that coal tar sealants pose unacceptable risks to infants, small children, and to the environment.
Many industry players have dropped coal tar sealants in favor of much safer and competitivelypriced alternatives. And data from cities that banned coal tar sealants years ago show that
ending use of coal tar sealants leads to dramatic decreases in PAH levels in urban streams in
less than a decade. The benefits of a ban to society are tremendous, the costs are almost nonexistent. It is long past time for EPA to ban these dangerous products.
Coal tar sealants are already banned in 3 states and more than 30 cities and counties, where
they have been replaced at little or no cost with much less toxic alternatives. Most large
retailers, such as Lowes and Home Depot, voluntarily stopped selling coal tar sealants years
ago.
The impacts of PAHs from coal tar sealants in our waters is well documented, and this is a
problem we and our fellow Waterkeeper organizations have been fighting for years, said Daniel
E. Estrin, General Counsel & Legal Director at Waterkeeper Alliance. We look forward to
working with EPA and our partners to advance more sustainable, affordable, and easily
implemented alternatives to coal tar sealants, and to eliminate this toxic threat to our nations
waterways and aquatic ecosystems.
When industrial facilities use coal tar based sealants, they discharge toxic chemicals into our
public waters that are proven to increase cancer risks, particularly among children, said
Christopher M. Kilian, Esq., Vice President, Vermont Director and Director of Clean Water and
Healthy Forests Program at Conservation Law Foundation. The time is long overdue to
address these discharges in a meaningful and comprehensive way, and were optimistic that
this settlement will go a long way toward protecting both human health and the health of our
environment."
This settlement is a win-win for our ecosystems, for local governments budgets, and for public
healthparticularly for infants and small children who are vulnerable to coal tar toxins, said
Tiffany Schauer, Executive Director of Our Childrens Earth Foundation. By updating the
MSGP, EPA will effectively outlaw the use of dangerous coal tar sealants at thousands of
covered sites.

Toxic coal tar pavement products have been banned in Washington State for nearly 5 years,
and nobody misses them! Across the country, our kids, communities and fish deserve much
better, said Chris Wilke, Puget Soundkeeper. We applaud EPA for stepping up, and urge them
now to employ a nationwide ban.
The groups call on EPA to take further action and ban coal tar sealants entirely. EPA has
authority to stop the use and sale of these products under multiple laws, including the newlyreformed Toxic Substances Control Act, the Clean Water Act, and the Resource Conservation
and Recovery Act.
About Coal Tar Sealants

The Pavement Coating Technology Center, an industry trade group, estimates that 85
million gallons of coal tar sealants are sold nationwide each year. A significant fraction of
this sealant is used on pavements at industrial facilities, ranging from airports to trucking
centers.

Over time, coal tar sealants get worn down by exposure to sunlight and vehicle traffic.
As the sealant wears away, it releases cancer-causing PAHs. Much of this pollution
amounting to millions of pounds of PAHs every year - is in the form of toxic dust and
sediment that is carried into homes on shoes and childrens toys, settles in the soil of
nearby lawns, gardens and playgrounds, or washes off during rainstorms into storm
sewers and waterways.

EPA believes that at least six of the PAHs found in coal tar pavement sealants are
probable human carcinogens and one PAH benzo(a)pyrene - is a known carcinogen.
In 2013, scientists at the USGS and Baylor University reported that children who grow
up near coal tar sealed pavements are at greatly increased risk of developing PAHrelated cancers later in life.

A 2011 EPA study confirmed the findings of the USGS and others, that coal tar
pavement sealants release hundreds of times more PAHs into the environment than
other kinds of sealant. And EPA has issued fact sheets urging consumers and
businesses to be aware of the risks these sealants pose and to choose safer
alternatives. But until now, there has been no federal regulation of coal tar sealants and
they are still widely sold and used in 47 states.

Coal tar sealants are also a major source of PAH emissions to the air. According to the
USGS, coal tar sealants releases more airborne PAHs every year than the entire US
vehicle fleet.
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