http://www.dec.ny.gov/docs/wildlife_pdf/woodline.pdfB. Creosote:
1. Creosote-treated wood used in water does not pose a significant risk to
aquatic life. Any actual impacts are likely to be short term and occur when the
treated wood is first installed in the water. A thin film or sheen frequently appears
on the surface of the water around a creosote-treated wood structure immediately
after the structure is put in place. The sheen results from low quantities of volatile
PAHs leaching from the wood. The sheen can be controlled by the installation of
an absorbent boom around the treated wood structure, but that might serve to
concentrate the chemical odor present while the materials evaporate from the
water. Aquatic organisms that dwell immediately at the air-water interface could
be impacted while the sheen is present. The presence of a sheen, however, is not
indicative of the presence of contaminants from creosote treated wood in the water
column under the sheen.
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2. Creosote treated wood should be aged at least three months in air
following treatment, before being installed in water. This will allow some of the
volatile, low and medium molecular weight components to evaporate, reducing or
eliminating the period of time during which a sheen is visible on the water�s surface
after the wood is installed in the water. For effective evaporation to occur during
the aging, the treated wood needs to be stacked in such a way that air can circulate
freely through the pile. The wood should not be stacked at a location where
precipitation running off the wood could drain into a natural water body.
