Creosote

Creosote is a name for several related products made by burning wood or coal, including wood creosote, coal tar creosote, coal tar, and coal tar pitch. The federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) says coal tar creosote is the most widely used wood preservative in the United States. It is what gives old railroad ties and telephone poles their dark, oily look and smoky smell.

People can be exposed by working in wood treatment plants, railroads, and industries such as asphalt, aluminum, steel, and coke production, by handling treated wood, or by living near a creosote facility or contaminated site. Creosote can move from soil into groundwater, where ATSDR notes it may take years to break down.

According to ATSDR, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services classifies coal tars, coal tar pitches, and coke oven emissions as carcinogenic to humans, and the International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies creosotes as probably carcinogenic to humans. Long-term worker exposure has been linked to cancers of the skin, lung, and other organs. Short-term contact can cause skin irritation, burns, and eye damage.

Creosote lawsuits are mostly toxic tort cases. Railroad workers have brought claims under the Federal Employers' Liability Act, and neighbors of wood treatment plants have filed property damage and personal injury suits over contaminated soil and water. These cases require proof of exposure and a medical link. See our guide to class actions and mass torts and the ethylene oxide lawsuit page for a similar community exposure case.