Creosote Contaminants: Explanation

What is Creoste and What Are its Uses

Creosote, commonly called "Witches Brew", is a chemical mixture that is created by heating products, (mainly wood and coal) to extremely high temperatures. In high quantities, creosote is extremely toxic.

Creosote is a widely used in a wide variety of functions. The product can be used as a wood preservative, an insecticide, and even as an ingredient in medicines that treat certain skin conditions.

Who is at Risk?

Many industrial workers, including wood preservative workers, rubber and tire factory workers, iron and steel factory workers, railroad workers,etc. Creosote is often commonly found in hazardous waste sites.

Generally speaking, the general population is at a low risk for cresote contamination. However, many products coated with cresote, such as wood and pesticide, are in contact with people more often then most expect. Cresote is commonly used to coat fire wood. Also, creoste coated fences surrouding gardens and pesticide used on plants could be a formula for creosote contaminaiton.

How can Creosote Enter the Environment?

After creosote treated wood has been burned, the creosote can pollute the air. Creosote can enter bodies of water or through the soil and into the ground water, usually from chemicals used in in the wood-preservation process. Also, contaminated water can be ingested by animals, thus the contamination could continue to spread.

Effects of Creosote on the Human Body

Creosote contamination can have many negative side effects. Contact with cresote can cause skin to turn red, and swelling, irritation, and blistering can also occur. Contact with creosote to the eyes can cause them to become red and irritated. Food and water can also become easily contaminated by creoste, and ingesting conaminated food and water acan result in pain in the stomach, mouth, and throat. Long term effects of creoste can cause mulitiple organs to fail, including the kidneys, liver, and brain. Creosote smoke can cause severe asthma. Certain types of cancer, including skin and scrotum cancer, can also result from creosote exposure.

www.losh.ucla.edu/resources-publications/fact-sheets/creosote_english.pdf