Clean Water Action Council of Northeast Wisconsin Executive Director Dean Hoegger is disappointed with how their invitation to a presentation last week was received by the nearly 60 people they personally invited. Held at the Door County Community Foundation, the presentation focused on the cancer-causing traits of coal-tar based sealants often used on parking lots. The Clean Water Action Council sent invitations to government officials and school district administrators to the presentation, citing the importance of switching to sealants without toxic polycyclics. Of the 60 invitations, only two attended. Hoegger says it was frustrating to see, especially since the invitations were made in the name of children’s health.

He says for a few bucks more, parking lot pavers could rely on less toxic latex or asphalt-based sealants. Sheboygan, Manitowoc, and soon Green Bay have already passed ordinances banning the use of coal tar-based sealants.