London, January 12 (ANI): Revamping you driveway with a fresh coat of black sealant may no longer be a good idea, for scientists have discovered that homes with black parking lots have surprisingly large doses of carcinogens in their household dust.
Barbara Mahler of the US Geological Survey in Austin, Texas, and colleagues, sought to determine the link between high quantities of polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the environment and sealed parking lots.
The team found that the amount of PAHs was on average 25 times higher inside apartments with coal tar-sealed parking lots than those with without.
"On the parking lots themselves, the concentrations all exceed that number, some by a factor of 60," Nature magazine quoted Mahler as saying.
The group, in Environmental Science and Technology, pointed out that there causes to worry since kids and pets often play on driveways.
Mahler said: "Kids eat dust. They're on the floor and they put everything in their mouths."
Anne LeHuray, a scientist with the Pavement Coatings Technology Council in Alexandria, Virginia, said the council recommended not applying coal-tar sealants within 48 hours of rain. (ANI)
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