POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC-HYDROCARBONS IN CREOSOTE IMPREGNATED WASTE MATERIALS FROM ACROSS WESTERN CANADA

Creosote Impregnated Waste Materials (CIWMs) such as out-of-service ra ilroad ties, telephone poles and marine pilings were assessed for toxi city in 1991 as part of the Priority Substances List under the Canadia n Environmental Protection Act (CEPA). During the assessment, insuffic ient data was found on the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) compo nents in CIWMs, making the evaluation of potential environmental and h ealth risks impossible. Analyses for PAHs listed on the USEPA Priority Pollutants List were carried out on out-of-service railroad ties take n from four locations across Western Canada. Each sample was extracted , partitioned, fractionated and analyzed by gas chromatography-mass sp ectrometry. Relatively high values of PAHs were found in approximately half of the samples. The concentration of each PAH varied from nondet ected to several thousand ppm, however, the relative amounts of the va rious PAHs were similar in the positive samples.