How to Remove Creosote Tar From Soil

Creosote tar is a distillation product of coal tar. Coal tar creosote, coal tar and coal tar pitch are very similar in composition and are all often called by the generic name "creosote." Coal tar creosote is the most common type to find in residential settings because it forms in the chimneys of coal furnaces and is a wood preservative for utility poles. This type of creosote is thick, amber to black colored oily liquid. Because creosote can cause soil and groundwater contamination, you should remove creosote that impacts the soil on your property.

Backhoe
Lined roll-off or 55-gallon drums
Respiratory protection
Safety goggles
Safety gloves
Plastic zip bags
Photoionization detector or flame ionization detector
Notebook
Pen

Instructions

- 1
  Stage the drums or roll-off on the property near the creosote-contaminated soil. Use drums for small amounts of soil and a roll-off if you have a significant amount of soil to excavate.
- 2
  Dig the impacted soil out of the ground with a backhoe and place in the roll-off or drums. Excavate approximately one foot past the visible impact to make sure that you removed all of the creosote.
- 3
  Collect soil samples into zip bags from the bottom and walls of the excavation and analyze the samples for volatile organic compounds using a photoionization detector (PID) or a flame ionization detector (FID). Allow the soil to sit for approximately five minutes before you read the concentration. Use the backhoe bucket to bring the soil samples up from the excavation and place the soil from the bucket into the plastic bag.
- 4
  Excavate additional soil from the ground if high organic concentrations are present in the soil samples. List the PID or FID readings in a notebook. You can also sketch the excavation in the notebook and label the locations of the soil samples to help you remember where to dig, if necessary.
- 5
  Fill the completed excavation with clean soil. Compact the soil and top spread grass seed over the top, as desired.

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