Products
Is Lifewood CCA treated wood safe?
Yes, when used as recommended.Wood properly treated with waterborne preservatives in accordance with New Zealand and Australian standards and used within the guidelines of the Environmental Protection Agency poses no threat to people, plants, or pets.
Does the use of treated wood affect the environment?
First of all, treated wood comes from a renewable resource. Wood is our only major renewable building material. The trees used for treated lumber and poles in New Zealand and Australia are species that are plentiful and fast-growing, thereby replenished rapidly. They are grown on managed timberlands, not in ecologically sensitive old-growth forests or unregulated tropical rain forests. Like all wood, treated wood provides good insulation against noise, temperature, and electricity. And preservative treatment extends the life of wood, reducing demands on forests and related resources.
What additional safety equipment do I need while working with Chromated Copper Arsenate (CCA) treated wood?
Use standard safety equipment and common sense when working with all types of building materials. Eye protection and dust masks should be used when sawing or machining any wood product, treated or untreated. Inhalation of sawdust can cause nose and throat irritation. Protecting your eyes from any foreign matter while sawing or machining is good safety practice.Wearing gloves provides extra protection against splinters. Practising good housekeeping hygiene at the completion of any construction project is always advisable.This includes washing hands and cleaning up sawdust in the work area. Other recommendations by Koppers can be found on our Consumer Information Handling Guides and the Koppers website www.kopperspc.co.nz.
How should I dispose of pressure-treated wood?
Before considering disposal, you should consider reusing or recycling the treated wood product. Treated wood can be reused in a manner compatible with its original purpose, such as fence posts, retaining walls, landscaping, decks, general construction and the like. Poles may often be reused in landscaping projects.
Home owners can dispose of treated wood with normal trash for disposal in a landfill. Commercial and industrial users can also deposit treated wood in a landfill.
Can wood treated with preservatives be burned?
As with many building products, treated wood should not be burned in open fires or stoves, fireplaces, or residential boilers.
Treated wood should only be burned in an approved commercial or industrial permitted co-generation or incinerator facility that is properly permitted to accept the treated wood under the applicable state and Government regulations.
Does contact with treated wood playground equipment, fences or decking pose health risks for children?
Wood that has been pressure-treated is widely used for playground equipment and decking. There is no reason to avoid using wood treated with a waterborne preservative in the playground environment. A water-repellent or wood sealer may be applied periodically to reduce cracking and splitting and thus the likelihood of children getting splinters. We recommend that you check with national and local government authorities for the use of CCA Treated Wood for playground, decking and other uses.
What if treated wood comes in contact with food and water?
Incidental contact of treated wood with drinking water, as with piling, docks, piers or bridges, is acceptable However, treated wood should not be used where it is likely to become a component of food or animal feed, or where the wood is likely to mix with foodstuffs.
Treated wood should not be used for kitchen counter tops or food cutting boards. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recommends not using any wood for kitchen counter tops or food cutting boards, because food may become trapped in the knife cuts in the board, allowing bacteria to grow and creating an unsanitary environment.
Where is wood treated with waterborne preservatives used?
Wood treated with CCA can be used in decks, fences, landscaping, docks, marinas, utility poles, mine shafts, bridges, boardwalks, highway sound barriers, cooling towers, agricultural stakes, walkways, trellises, railways, roller coasters, playground equipment, and pilings, among many other uses.
Is treated wood suitable to use in the water?
Yes. CCA treated wood is suitable for use when used as directed in nearly all dock, marinas, pilings, and bulkheads, and is widely used for these applications.
Can treated wood be used in gardening projects?
Yes.The extra durability of pressure treatment makes treated wood the perfect product for raised beds, terraced gardens, grape or tomato stakes, mushroom trays, vineyard supports, retaining walls, trellises, arbors, garden furniture, compost bins, walkway steps, flower bed edging, and planters.
If treated wood is used for piers, docks, and pilings does it have any effect on marine organisms?
Treated wood does not release significant amounts of preservative materials.In fact, many marine organisms live, grow, and flourish on treated pilings. A study at Springborn Laboratories looked further, checking for any effects on tiny, bottom-of-the-food-chain organisms that live in sediment near CCA-treated wood. This study -designed by an independent toxicologist, reviewed by an independent marine biologist, and conducted by an independent laboratory -found no adverse impact from the treated wood.
Does treated wood used for posts, poles, and in other ground contact applications leach chemicals into the soil?
Several studies have been completed by utility companies and by universities addressing the migration of preservatives from poles. These studies indicate that preservatives from poles do not cause groundwater contamination. The concentrations of preservatives released from treated wood pose no significant threat to human health and the environment.
Late in 1993, the Tasmanian (Australian) Parks and Wildlife Service published its study on the effects of CCA-treated wood walkways, some of which had been in place for 15 years.The study which included soil sampling and laboratory research, concluded that the treated-lumber poses “very low risk to the environment and workers”and pointed out the advantages of treated wood.
Can livestock be housed in structures made with CCA treated wood?
Yes, properly processed CCA-treated wood is considered suitable for use in construction of livestock fencing, cribs, pens, stalls, and other boarding structures. Studies have shown no observed harmful effects to test animals from skin contact or even ingestion of CCA-treated wood.
Some livestock are prone to cribbing (biting and eating) the wood used for their enclosures. In studies where animals were fed CCA-treated sawdust, there were no observed harmful effects either to the animals themselves or to their offspring. In fact, laboratory studies based on animal exposures have shown that an average horse would have to eat a two-by-four approximately 10 feet long at one time to take in the amount of CCA preservative considered lethal. All treated wood, including CCA, should not be used for animal water containers.
Why is pressure-treated wood preferable to concrete, plastics, steel, and aluminum in many uses?
Steel, concrete, and aluminum result in much higher construction costs, higher energy requirements in the process of creating substitute materials, greater air and water pollution and/or environmental protection costs, and higher dependence on foreign sources for imported materials.
In addition, some types of steel may corrode, concrete may deteriorate in salt water, and plastic may not have the strength, durability, and structural integrity of treated wood. Since wood is a renewable resource, modern forest managers can ensure a continuous and plentiful supply, while wood preservation extends the nation’s forest resource.
Finally, it is easy to make on-site modification to wood structures. This is not only because wood is easier to work with than other materials, but also because woodworking skills are much more common than skills required for other materials.
For more detailed information visit www.preservedwood.org where you will find many peer reviewed studies including: