After Tonawanda Coke verdict, environmentalists turn attention to coal tar

[hrmjustin]

Niagara Gazette

In the shadow of the Tonawanda Coke sentence doled out this week in U.S. Federal Court, several local environmental groups called on elected leaders Thursday to ban coal tar.

While Tonawanda Coke violated federal Clean Air laws for releasing toxic benzene into surrounding neighborhoods for years, it also illegally left raw coal tar on the ground near the plant.

But, the process of using coal tar sealant on driveways and parking lots still remains commonplace, a technique that environmentalists call highly carcinogenic.

Erin Heaney, director of the Clean Air Coalition, said years of illness in areas surrounding Tonawanda Coke shows how harmful coal tar can be, a message hammered home by this week’s sentencing and fines.

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