Creosote is the name used for a variety of products: wood creosote, coal tar creosote, coal tar, coal tar pitch, and coal tar pitch volatiles. These products are mixtures of many chemicals such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (known as PAHs), phenol, cresols created by high temperature treatment of beech and other woods, coal, or from the resin of the Creosote bush. See also preservative. Coal tar is the liquid by-product of the distillation of coal to make coke. ... An aromatic hydrocarbon (abbreviated as AH), or arene is a hydrocarbon, the molecular structure of which incorporates one or more planar sets of six carbon atoms that are connected by delocalised electrons numbering the same as if they consisted of alternating single and double covalent bonds. ... Phenol, also known under an older name of carbolic acid, is a colorless crystalline solid with a typical sweet tarry odor. ... Cresols are organic chemical compounds which are methylphenols. ... Species Fagus crenata - Japanese Beech Fagus engleriana - Chinese Beech Fagus grandifolia - American Beech Fagus hayatae - Taiwan Beech Fagus japonica - Japanese Blue Beech Fagus longipetiolata - South Chinese Beech Fagus lucida - Shining Beech Fagus mexicana - Mexican Beech or Haya Fagus orientalis - Oriental Beech Fagus sylvatica - European Beech Beech (Fagus) is a genus... Coal (previously referred to as pitcoal or seacoal) is a fossil fuel extracted from the ground by underground mining or open-pit mining (surface mining). ... Insect trapped in resin. ... Binomial name Larrea tridentata (Sessé & Moc. ... A preservative is a natural or synthetic chemical that is added to products such as foods, pharmaceuticals, paints, biological samples, etc. ...

Wood creosote

Wood creosote is a colorless to yellowish greasy liquid with a smoky odor and burned taste.

Wood creosote has been used as a disinfectant, a laxative, and a cough treatment[1], but these have mostly been replaced by newer medicines. Disinfection The destruction of pathogenic and other kinds of microorganisms by physical or chemical means Disinfectants are chemical substances used to kill viruses and microbes (germs), such as bacteria and fungi. ... A laxative is a preparation used for encouraging defecation, or the expulsion of feces. ... A cough medicine is a drug used to treat coughing and related conditions. ...

Coal tar creosote

Coal tar creosote is a thick, oily liquid typically amber to black in color. Coal tar and coal tar pitch are usually thick, black, or dark-brown liquids or semi-solids, with a smoky odor.

Coal tar products are used in medicines to treat skin diseases such as psoriasis, and also as animal and bird repellents, insecticides, animal dips, and fungicides. Coal tar creosote is the most widely used wood preservative in the United States. Virtually all wooden railroad ties and telephone poles in use are treated with creosote to retard rotting. Coal tar, coal tar pitch (pitch), and coal tar pitch volatiles are used for roofing, aluminum smelting, and coking. A insecticide is a pesticide used against insects in all development forms. ... A Fungicide is one of three main methods of pest control- chemical control of fungi in this case. ... A preservative is a natural or synthetic chemical that is added to products such as foods, pharmaceuticals, paints, biological samples, etc. ... Ferroconcrete sleepers A variant fastening of rails to wooden sleepers A railroad tie, cross tie, or sleeper is an oblong object used as a base for railroad tracks. ... A telegraph post, telegraph pole or telephone pole is a post or pole upon which telephone network equipment is situated. ... The pitch drop experiment. ... Aluminum is a soft and lightweight metal with a dull silvery appearance, due to a thin layer of oxidation that forms quickly when it is exposed to air. ... Chemical reduction, or smelting, is a form of extractive metallurgy. ... This page is a candidate to be moved to Wiktionary. ...

Health effects

Eating food or drinking water contaminated with high levels of creosotes may cause a burning in the mouth and throat, and stomach pains.

Brief direct contact with large amounts of coal tar creosote may result in a rash or severe irritation of the skin, chemical burns of the surfaces of the eyes, convulsions and mental confusion, kidney or liver problems, unconsciousness, and even death. Longer direct skin contact with low levels of creosote mixtures or their vapors can result in increased light sensitivity, damage to the cornea, and skin damage. Longer exposure to creosote vapors can cause irritation of the respiratory tract. Closeup of a blue-green human eye. ... This article is about the medical condition. ... Unconsciousness is the absence of consciousness. ... Death is the full cessation of vital functions in the biological life. ... The cornea is the transparent front part of the eye that covers the iris, pupil, and anterior chamber, providing most of an eyes optical power [1]. Together with the lens, the cornea refracts light and, as a result, helps the eye to focus. ... This article or section seems not to be written in the formal tone expected of an encyclopedia entry. ... In humans the respiratory tract is the part of the anatomy that has to do with the process of respiration or breathing. ...

Long-term exposure to low levels of creosote, especially direct contact with the skin during wood treatment or manufacture of coal tar creosote-treated products has resulted in skin cancer and cancer of the scrotum. Cancer of the scrotum in chimney sweeps has been associated with long-term skin exposure to soot and coal tar creosotes. Animal studies have also shown skin cancer from skin exposure to coal tar products. Skin cancer is a malignant growth on the skin, which can have many causes, including repeated severe sunburns or long-term exposure to the sun. ... When normal cells are damaged beyond repair, they are eliminated by apoptosis. ... In some male mammals, the scrotum is an external bag of skin and muscle containing the testicles. ... Chimney sweep in the 1850s A Chimney sweep is a person who cleans chimneys for a living. ...

The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has determined that coal tar is carcinogenic to humans and that creosote is probably carcinogenic to humans. The EPA has determined that coal tar creosote is a probable human carcinogen. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC, or CIRC in its French acronym) is an intergovernmental agency forming part of the World Health Organisation of the United Nations. ... In pathology, a carcinogen is any substance or agent that promotes cancer. ... EPA redirects here. ...

There is no unique exposure pathway of children to creosote. Children exposed to creosote will probably experience the same health effects seen in adults exposed to creosote. Children who played on soil contaminated with creosote had more skin rashes than children who played in uncontaminated areas. It is unknown whether children differ from adults in their susceptibility to health effects from creosote.

Studies in animals have shown birth defects in the young of mothers exposed to high levels of creosote during pregnancy, but no similar studies have been performed on humans. Some animal studies indicate that creosotes may cross the placenta and reach the fetus. Because chemical components (PAHs, cresol, phenols) of coal tar creosote may be stored in body fat, they may be found in breast milk and could pass to nursing infants.

In 2003 the European Union banned creosote for amateur and unlicenced professional use, due to concerns over these health effects, noting that recent research had shown that the risk of skin cancer had perhaps been underestimated previously.

External links

• Creosote factsheet from the UK Department of Trade and Industry
• ATSDR creosote faq
• Tests of Creosoted Timber, Transactions of the American Society of Civil Engineers, vol. LXX, Dec. 1910, by W. B. Gregory, from Project Gutenberg