How safe is exposure to coal tar pitch?
Coal tar pitch can cause cancer. According to government documents, coal tar pitch may cause skin, lung and bladder cancer. Breathing in coal tar pitch is certainly not a good idea. OSHA has established a permissible exposure limit (PEL) of .2 mg per cubic meter over an eight hour time weighted average exposure period. However, anyone concerned about their exposure to high levels of coal tar pitch in the past should discuss their exposure with their physician. There is no predetermined level of exposure below which diseases can be ruled out with scientific certainty. Coal tar pitch contains polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). When these particles get into the air, they can easily be breathed into the human lungs. Naphthalene is one of the polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons found in coal tar. Naphthalene is at least partly responsible for the pungent odor that coal tar emits when heated. Another dangerous component of coal tar that many people are familiar with is benzene. Benzene is
