Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Pressure treated wood

I just found a tag on my pressure treated wood that states "Caution: Arsenic is in the pesticide applied to this wood. Never burn treated wood. Wear dust mask and goggles when cutting or sanding wood. Wear gloves when working with wood." I thought it was interesting enough to pass it on because of previous thoughts on the topic. Deaner

I have even seen a case where a local government had torn down a play ground because of the Arsenic scare.

If you are building a bridge over a small "KOI-Type" pond, use redwood. That little bit of Arsenic is enough to kill the expensive Koi in a pond.

It must be older product. Most all the green treated product I find on the market today is arsenic free...I think one brand name is AC-2 (Menard's). I thought that green-treat production for the homeowner market was arsenic-free.
(edit)...nonetheless and regardless, heed the warning, Paul. Thanks for reminding us to "read the label". Now...let's start working on fat-free! :rolleyes:

Brettsi,
yes, you cannot buy CCA (Chromated copper arsenate) lumber in normal retail outlets anymore. Most PT lumber is treated with ACQ now (Alkaline Copper Quaternary). I have also seen copper azole (CA) at a retailer called 84 lumber.

How dangerous the arsenic in cca actually is has been hotly debated.

Regarding chromated copper arsenate, I managed all treating operations at five large wood treatment plants in Alabama, Ohio, and Indiana for many years. As such, I have personally been in contact with more CCA treating solution and pressure-treated wood than the average end-user would ever contact in many lifetimes. I contacted CCA in every possible manner except actually swim in it. I have been drenched by CCA treating solution many times in the course of work on the process equipment. I am now retired and in excellent health. I can only speak for myself, but in my humble opinion, CCA is a far better product than the ACQ that replaced it.

I'm not sure why people keep saying CCA's not available...I can still buy all I want at my local lumber yard. They don't even carry ACQ, as they haven't had any call for it yet.

I don't have a lot of time to research this right now but here is a quote from NY's department of environmental con. website

"In addition, on February 12, 2002, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) announced a voluntary decision by industry to move consumer use of treated lumber products away from a variety of pressure-treated wood that contains arsenic by December 31, 2003, in favor of new alternative wood preservatives. This transition affects virtually all residential uses of wood treated with CCA, including wood used in play-structures, decks, picnic tables, landscaping timbers, residential fencing, patios and walkways/boardwalks. As of January 1, 2004, USEPA will not allow CCA products to be used to treat wood intended for any of these residential uses.

The remaining stock of CCA-treated lumber was sold out in most stores by the fall of 2004."

Interestingly enough my company is working on this subject as we speak and the CCA was discontinued for residential use. It however is still being manufactured for commercial and construction uses. The industry is moving rapidly away from the CCA but the leading candidate ACQ uses quats as a component and that is expensive and you have to load up the wood with more copper to deal with the efficacy loss with respect to CCA. The ACQ also has corrosion problems with certain types of fasteners.

There are other options that are coming up rapidly like Silicate based formulas that basically infuse the wood with liquid glass and then heat it to lock things in place. A company by the name of Timbersil is the manufacturer of that technology. With that formula there is no leaching issues and the stud lasts at least 75 yrs in a wet environment. The wood is also lighter in weight and can be painted or stained unlike plastic composite woods.

I wish I could say that is my companies product but we are coming up with an equally interesting option that is more environmentally friendly. If you want to talk pressure treating or wood sometime in more detail please feel free to give me a shout.