New Virginia bill could ban pavement sealant scientists have linked to cancer

PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — The Virginia State Senate will soon be voting on a new bill that bans the use of harmful pavement sealants statewide. House Bill 985 has already cleared the house and is now moving to the senate for ratification.

The bill targets coal-tar sealants which, Chesapeake Bay Foundation scientist Joe Wood said, contains harmful chemicals that have been linked to cancer.

“What’s been shown to happen is that after the use of these products, is the driveway breaks down eventually, and those materials are tracked into the house,” Wood said. “And they’ve shown that house dust in areas where these products are use increases 25 fold.”

The use of these sealants has already been discontinued by VDOT, and major retailers like Lowes and Home Depot have also stopped sales. According to a recent USGS fact sheet, people living adjacent to coal-tar sealants were 38 times more likely to develop some form of cancer than those who did not live near the sealants.

Wood said the most vulnerable age group is children who play on and around the treated pavement. The chemicals can also dislodge when vehicles drive over the pavement and wash into our waterways.

“Same thing for wildlife,” Wood said. “These materials run off into streams, rivers and into the bay. There are places that have been shown that up to 70% of this type of pollution in lakes, rivers and streams is from this source. So they can be a dominant source and they cause cancer in fish.”

Wood said that, if passed, the ban will go into effect next year. In the meantime, if individuals have a contractor installing a driveway for, they should be sure to ask them if they use coal-tar sealants.