I have some old railroad ties that have gotten even older still lining the driveway for a long time. They are old enough that they almost look like old wood instead of black like normal ties. I would like to use them to make a raised garden. Has enough of the preservative leached out by now to make them usable for a vegetable garden? What about old phone poles--again they are very old and look like old wood.

-- Someone different (something@lessobvious.com), June 30, 2001

Answers

Cuprinol and other wood preservatives are so toxic and longlasting that the answer is probably no. I would never buy a house that had treated ties or poles in the garden.

-- seraphima (seraphima@ak.net), June 30, 2001.

I worked at a tie treating plant for a few years (in the office) and I heard and saw enough about the process to know that you NEVER want treated ties to come into contact with your food. You also don't want to breath the creosote by living in a house built of them. I had the same idea when I worked there, I could get the "culls" for nothing and thought, wow a free house - No!.

We even had people bring in planter boxes wanting us to treat them, they were told to buy Thompsons or some other sealant. They are great for lining a drive but not much else around the house.

The ties are pressure treated, the creosote will never be all gone no matter how long they sit out in the sun and weather. The "drip pad" where the freshly treated ties are "parked" must be cleaned between loads and stripped and resealed very often. What is washed off is Haz Mat and must be sealed in barrels and disposed of via the legal way. This stuff is toxic.

We had a new truck driver (young woman wearing hip hugger shorts and a midriff halter top) pick up a load which was not quite dry - no big deal to an experienced trucker, just put on gloves and tie it down. By the time she had tied down her load she was covered by creosote and on fire. She legs, arms, stomach and breasts were red as flames. We always kept cleaning solution and burn ointment in case something like this happened. She never came back.

-- Viv in TX (kudzu1@webtv.net), June 30, 2001.