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Pothole Patches Poison, Green Group Warns
By
John Del Signore
Published Oct 20, 2008
Modified Oct 20, 2008
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By
John Del Signore
Published Oct 20, 2008
Modified Oct 20, 2008
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The Green Energy Council is sounding the alarm on "cold patch," a blacktop material used to patch potholes, estimating that the stuff leaches 240,000 gallons of toxic fuel oil into the soil or gets washed off into the sewage system or evaporates into the air our children breath. The president of the group tells the Post, "You're talking about an extraordinary amount of diesel fuel." Cold patch has been used to fill potholes for years, but there have been no studies on the health impact of its toxic runoff. The city DOT has been a major cold patch consumer, but they recently agreed to buy 5,000 tons of a new type of environmentally friendly biodegradable type of cold patch called GreenPatch. Oddly, the Post insists the DOT "had no clue" GreenPatch was eco-friendy until their know-it-all egghead reporter told the agency.
Tagged
asphalt
city
cold patch
diesel
dot
green patch
ground water
leach
nonpoint pollution
nyc
toxic
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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