According to the EPA
http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/factsheets/chemicals/creosote_main.htm:

"Creosote is a wood preservative used for commercial purposes only; it has
no registered residential uses. Creosote is obtained from high temperature
distillation of coal tar (itself a mixture of hundreds of organic
substances), and over 100 components in creosote have been identified. It is
used as a fungicide, insecticide, miticide, and sporicide to protect wood
and is applied by pressure methods to wood products, primarily utility poles
and railroad ties. EPA is currently reassessing creosote as part of its
ongoing reregistration program for older pesticides. Federal law directs EPA
to periodically reevaluate older pesticides to ensure that they continue to
meet current safety standards. We have updated this Web site to reflect
recent changes to the status of the registration for creosote."


----- Original Message -----
From: "Ron May" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Tuesday, June 15, 2004 11:59 AM
Subject: Re: Wood-Treating/Railroad Tie Plant


> Railroad ties and creosote-soaked wood products for railroad use should
prove
> to be an interesting thread. Last March while monitoring an underground
> utility trench, a spur section of a rail line came up and the crew hacked
through a
> tie. From the splintered wood, came two twisted pieces of 1/4-inch square
> steel that reeked of creosote. I tried in vain to describe those items to
Mike
> Polk, who is quite knowledgeable in railroad artifacts. Now I am thinking
of
> shipping the artifacts off to him for identification (not to mention
getting the
> creosote smell out of my office). Neither the agency requiring the
monitoring
> nor the trenching company wanted the metal pieces and advised allowing the
> items to be discarded with the dirt (the trenching company disposes the
dirt in a
> landfill and pours concrete into the utility trench when done. So, my
> question to all is if they can identify twisted 1/4-inch wide square rods,
soaked in
> creosote, as to function?
>
> Ron May
> Legacy 106, Inc.