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GBlist: Dangers of CCA Pressure Treated Wood



Please refer to the April 1997 issue of Organic Gardening magazine for
one opinion, backed by some research, on the dangers of CCA pressure
treated lumber. They present a compelling argument for avoiding the use
of CCA, especially around garden beds and children's play equipment. One
would need to ask what the dangers of leaching ACQ into the soil or onto
one's body. Until a definitive answer is provided, a safer alternative
is the use of concrete, construction materials made of recycled plastic,
or some other less traditional alternative. Alternately, one can use an
untreated wood, perhaps even natural cedar, and put up with the
inevitable rot.>
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> ACQ wood preservative
> 
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> 
>    * To: greenbuilding@crest.org
>    * Subject: ACQ wood preservative
>    * From: Belinda Remley <hcksadv@atl.mindspring.com>
>    * Date: Wed, 18 Dec 1996 10:12:35 -0500
>    * Reply-To: greenbuilding@crest.org
>    * Sender: owner-greenbuilding@crest.org
> 
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> (Huck DeVenzio)
> On at least three occasions, David Kibbey has praised ACQ preservative,
> which is an effective chemical for pressure treating wood (except for marine
> applications).  He probably does not realize that, despite five or so years
> of promotion around the world, ACQ has failed to gain much market share.
> Perhaps ACQ-treated wood is available near Mr. Kibbey, but it is difficult
> to find most other places.  That's because it costs more but offers no
> benefits to users.  It does not contain arsenic or chromium as he states --
> if CCA-treated wood were causing environmental harm, the premium for ACQ
> would be well worth it.  But there has been no evidence of harm from the
> production, installation, or use of CCA-treated wood, so ACQ production has
> been very limited.  I ask Mr. Kibbey to take another sniff of CCA-treated
> wood.  The preservative is odorless; he must have smelled something else or
> is confused by the alphabetic names.  ACA, ACZA, and ACQ (in California)
> preservatives use an ammonia carrier solution which has an odor;  CCA uses
> water.  Based on 60 years of use and many studies, I believe that the
> benefits of CCA-treated wood far outweigh any risks and that, compared to
> its current building alternatives, it is environmentally superior for most
> applications.
> 
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>    * Index: Greenbuilding Mailing list Archive for December 1996
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This greenbuilding dialogue is sponsored by Oikos (www.oikos.com)
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send e-mail to greenbuilding-request@crest.org.
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