Chris wrote:
On Jun 9, 1:12 pm, "SteveB" toquerville@zionvistas wrote:
I am looking for some old railroad ties. They have creosote treating on
them, but it is weak due to the age of the ties. Is this a problem when
using them to form raised beds?

Steve

--
"...the man who really counts in the world is the doer, not the mere
critic-the man who actually does the work, even if roughly and imperfectly,
not the man who only talks or writes about how it ought to be done."
Theodore Roosevelt 1891

Wikipedia has this about coal tar creosote, the kind used to preserve
railroad ties:

"The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has determined
that coal tar creosote is probably carcinogenic to humans, based on
adequate animal evidence and limited human evidence. It is instructive
to note that the animal testing relied upon by IARC involved the
continuous application of creosote to the shaved skin of rodents.
After weeks of creosote application, the animals developed cancerous
skin lesions and in one test, lesions of the lung. The United States
Environmental Protection Agency has stated that coal tar creosote is a
possible human carcinogen."

Sounds like a problem to me.

Chris

I looked at this before commenting in another ng that I would not worry
about this. Exposure level is important with any toxin or carcinogen.
In animal tests you always overdose to start to get meaningful answers.
Painting it on shaves skin over many weeks is different from the
plant maybe absorbing a few ppb and getting in food.