Coal Tar Pitch

• Liquid coal tar pitch is a black, dense hydrocarbon liquid that has a strong, aromatic coal tar odour.  It is stored at high temperatures (200 degrees C).
• This substance is used in the aluminium smelting industry as a binder in the manufacture of carbon anodes.
• The fumes from this hot liquid are heavier than air and tend to settle in low lying areas, until blown away by wind.
• Coal-tar pitches are used primarily as the binder for aluminum smelting electrodes (IARC 1984). They are also used in roofing materials, to impregnate and strengthen refractory brick (for lining industrial furnaces), and in surface coatings, such as pipe-coating enamels and black varnishes used as protective coatings for industrial steelwork and as antifouling paints for boats.