Phenol - 1) A corrosive poisonous crystalline acidic compound present in coal tar and wood tar that in dilute solutions is used as a disinfectant and 2) any of various acidic compounds analogous to phenols and regarded as hydroxyl derivatives of aromatic hydrocarbons. When coal and wood are burned for energy, phenols are released into the atmosphere.
[Merriam Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 10th edition, 1993, p.871] 
Atmospheric Chemistry Glossary