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CREOSOTE (COAL TAR-DERIVED)
CAS No: 8001-58-9
I. PHYSICAL AND CHEMICAL PROPERTIES (From HSDB, 1994)
Molecular weight
complex mixture
Boiling point 194 - 400ºC
Melting point
not available
Vapor pressure
not available
Air concentration conversion not available
II.
HEALTH ASSESSMENT VALUES
Unit Risk Factor: Can be calculated using PEF factors contained in the benzo[a]pyrene Toxic
Air Contaminant (TAC) document (OEHHA, 1993).
Slope Factor: Can be calculated using PEF factors contained in the benzo[a]pyrene TAC
document (OEHHA, 1993).
III.
CARCINOGENIC EFFECTS
Human Studies
Henry (1947) reviewed 3753 cases of cutaneous epitheliomata (epitheliomatous ulceration or cancer of
the skin) reported to the British Medical Inspector of Factories from 1920 to 1945. Thirty five cases
(12 of the scrotum) had creosote exposure. Henry (1946) also reported that the crude mortality rate
for scrotal cancer during 1911-1938 for British brickmakers exposed to creosote oil was 29 per million
men based on 9 verified cases as compared to a national average of 4.2 per million and rates of 1 per
million or less for groups not exposed to suspected skin carcinogens.
A cohort study reported on 123 Swedish workers who treated wood with creosote and were exposed
to both creosote and arsenic between 1950 and 1980 (Axelson and Kling, 1983; reviewed in IARC,
1985). Eight workers died of cancer compared to 6 expected. Three cancer deaths (leukemia,
pancreas and stomach) were observed compared to 0.8 expected in a subgroup of 21 workers
exposed only to creosote for five or more years.
A case-referent study of Swedish workers examined potential relationships between past occupational
and radiation exposure and multiple myeloma (Flodin et al., 1987). Exposure assessment employed a
mailed questionnaire that asked questions about occupational (including coal tar creosote) and radiation
exposure. Data analysis using the Miettinen confounder score technique indicated that an increased
prevalence of multiple myeloma was associated with occupational exposure to coal tar creosote (crude
rate ratio = 6.0, p = 0.001). The rate ratio point estimate for creosote exposure increased to 9.0 after
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