Monona Rossol on thu 20 jun 96
I'm in a rush to leave the house, but I didn't want to leave ClayArt folks
thinking that they can identify pressure treated wood and sawdust by sight.
There are three pressure treatment chemicals which are especially toxic.
* Chromated copper arsenate treated wood is green and does reduce to a more
brown color with age. Fumes of all three metals will be present in the smoke.
* Refined creosote is also a restricted use pesticide treatment because it is a
strong carcinogen. It has a yellowish or brownish color and is harder to
detect.
* Pentachlorophenol is still allowed in commercially pressure treatment
processes and it is essentially colorless. Exposure to penta causes no overt
symptoms, but it is a hell of a carcinogen.
The only way to really know that a particular wood shouldn't be burned because
of the treatment chemicals is to look at the ends of the boards before they are
cut up. If you get sawdust from a lumber yard, you can almost guarantee that
some of the sawdust will be from treated wood unless they don't sell any.
Since smart consumers know how toxic treated wood sawdust is, they usually have
the lumber yard cut the stuff for them.
Other common treatments are done with metal naphthanates and various boron
compounds. These aren't great to breathe when they break down with heat either.
There are also treatments to prevent checking during kiln drying, to prevent
mold, and many other purposes. Imported fancy woods are usually laced with
biocides because they have to arrive without mold or rot after weeks or more in
the damp and wet holds of ships.
Almost all wood sold in the US has been treated with something at some stage of
production. Its just that the so-called "pressure treatment" chemicals are the
most toxic.
And just forget about using painted, stained, or varnished wood.
The very best wood for any fire---whether raku or in your fire place, still has
bark on it.
Monona Rossol, industrial hygienist with Arts, Crafts and Theater Safety, 181
Thompson St., # 23 NYC 10012-2596 212/777-0062
Cheryl Shoemaker on sat 22 jun 96
Monona,
Glad you stepped in. Didn't realize I was in such glaring error. As for penta
treatments, I thought those were no longer legal in the US. At any rate,
apologies to the list for my error. However, I am glad it came up as I think
this using of reclaimed scrap wood/sawdust is an issue for us. Your post is
definitely one for the files. Thanks.
Cheryl Shoemaker
75757.30@compuserve.com
>>I'm in a rush to leave the house, but I didn't want to leave ClayArt folks
thinking that they can identify pressure treated wood and sawdust by sight.
There are three pressure treatment chemicals which are especially toxic.<<
Dinah Snipes Steveni on thu 12 aug 10
Sound advice about not burning treated wood; also avoid using treated wood =
to shore up or surround vegetable plots. Chems will leach.
Dinah
http://www.dinahsnipessteveni.com
www.blogger.com Dianthus Ceramics
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