Second in the series on pressure treated wood. Though pretty much obsolete, there is still some of the older P.T. wood containing arsenic out there. Keep an eye out.

THE OLD HOUSE DOCTOR 2-18-03      

PRESSURE TREATED LUMBER II

          That wet, heavy, green lumber you bought to build your deck is about to go the way of the dinosaurs. No, it won’t be the victim of an apocalyptic meteor impact. Well, okay, it COULD, but we’re splitting straws here. What I’m telling you is that recent federal legislation will change the formula for treating wood.

Presently, this wood (called CCA) is most commonly treated with copper, chromium and arsenic, all heavy metals. The arsenic is the most dangerous, and the chemicals, being in solution form, can leach from the wood. Concern for children’s exposure to CCA in playground equipment has prompted the legislation that banned CCA from being produced after December of this year.

I will not climb up on my soapbox to call this purely political, because I wouldn’t want my nonexistent kids to be constantly exposed to chemicals such as these. Nor would I preach in the other direction, saying that few cases of arsenic poisoning have been documented from this source. Allergic reactions to peanuts hurt more children each year than CCA lumber, unless it falls on them. But I digress, and that usually smells bad.

The fact is, what was CCA will become ACQ, an abbreviation for alkaline, quat and copper. Copper is still there, and my research into just what type of alkaline and what in the world “quat” is has led me nowhere. I don’t believe it’s the same stuff they chew to get high in Yemen.

An inquiry to Hickson Company, one of the state’s biggest treaters, showed me that they don’t really know what it is. I will continue to research.

They did tell me these facts. Prices for treated wood will increase by 40% as ACQ is introduced, then will come down as the change is made. ACQ works just as well as CCA to repel rot and insects. There are other products that may emerge to compete with ACQ.

My guess is that ACQ will be found to have some detrimental effect on laboratory mice when fed to them in large amounts. As would peanuts.

Next time, we wrap this subject up with safety tips YOU should use around CCA wood.