Frequently Asked Questions about Coal Tar Pitch
Q: Where was coal tar pitch used in the aluminum smelter industry?
A: In the aluminum industry, companies like Alcoa, Inc. use coal tar pitch as a key ingredient in the manufacture of anode blocks. Anode blocks are huge carbon blocks that are used to conduct electricity into the aluminum smelting receptacle (commonly called an "aluminum pot"). Carbon anode blocks weigh up to 2,645 pounds.
Aluminum smelters use rows of pots in huge buildings to produce aluminum on an industrial scale. Pots are arranged into what are called "pot lines." These pot lines each burn up anode blocks during the production of aluminum. The leftover anode blocks are called "butts."
Alcoa uses many thousands of pounds of coal tar in its smelters each year. Likewise, Alcan and other major aluminum companies continue to use coal tar in massive quantities.
Q: Besides aluminum smelting, where else is coal tar pitch used?
A: Coal tar pitch is also used in coke ovens. The steel industry uses coal tar pitch in industrial quantities. The creosote railroad tie industry uses huge quantities of benzene containing coal tar. Utility poles and other lumber are sometimes treated with coal tar to retard insect infestations. Plants throughout the United States use coal tar to treat wood in this way.
Q: What kinds of cancer can be linked to coal tar pitch exposure?
A: Some experts have linked bladder cancer, lung cancer, kidney cancer and melanoma skin cancer to coal tar pitch exposure. Other cancers may be caused by coal tar as well. There is evidence to suggest that scrotal cancer may also be associated with long-term exposure to coal tar pitch.
The coal tar pitch law firm of Cappolino Dodd Krebs LLP is investigating cases of potential cancers caused by exposure to this product.
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