ABSTRACT
Manufactured gas plants and other coal tar sites may differ in the details, but generally exhibit several commonalities. Chief among these is their principal contaminants of concern, many of which are unique to coal tar sites. The toxic legacy of the gasworks industry is well documented, and although regulatory priorities in many jurisdictions may have been shifted to other contaminants, these sites can still pose significant risks to human health and the environment. Most polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) compounds are not unique to a particular type of compound or site—benzo[a]pyrene is one of the principal contaminants of concern for coal tar, but can also be found in coal ash, wood ash, and even bacon and smoked fish. PAHs are essentially ubiquitous in the modern urban environment, largely due to the consumption of vast quantities of coal during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the deposition of coal soot and the use of coal ash for fill, road grit, and other purposes, but this familiarity should not breed contempt.
