"Pressure-treated" wood is poisonous

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The phrase "pressure-treated" is an industry euphemism for chemically-treated. "Pressure-treated" wood contains various chemicals, including arsenic, copper, and chromium.

The most poisonous item of all is wood ash that originates from "pressure-treated" wood. In ash the poison is concentrated. I certainly wouldn't let any of this ash come near my garden. I intend to avoid "pressure-treated" wood altogether when I build my house. Ifthe wood rots, I'll just hav to rebuild. I won't have to be worried about my children touching my building material. it's worth the extra effort, I think.

You might be able to identify "pressure-treated" wood by it's color: the wood may appear to be dyed green or dyed to look like a dark wood.

For some information on CCA-treated wood see http://www.ccaresearch.org

-- Rick#7 (rick7@postmark.net), July 26, 2001

Answers

there is plenty in the archives on pressure/rot resistant treated wood

-- Stan (sopal@net-port.com), July 26, 2001.

This is our companies favorite "new yuppie" concern! Of course it is posionous, here....let us build your deck for you with good non- pressure treated wood!! We will be back in 5 years to tear out all the rot and rebuild, should keep us in business indefinetly! One such test on the soil around a deck and 20 feet out in the yard, gave exactly the same measurments of heavy metals, course that is in Houston, where even the air would surely have the same measurments :) Vicki

-- Vicki McGaugh TX (vickilonesomedoe@hotmail.com), July 26, 2001.

A way to "treat" wood with out cemicals is to burn the outer surface, with a controlled burning, just enough to develope a layer of charcoal about 1/8 to 1/4 inch thick depending on the size of the board. I have seen 55 gal. drums with the sides cut down so the fire is contaned, the board is supported on each side of the barrel, slid and turned as needed to keep the burn even. With a water bucket near by someone douses the wood after it passes through the fire barrel. Wood treated this way last longer than the presure treated does.

-- Thumper (slrldr@aol.com), July 26, 2001.

can always use cedar,, or locust,,, or any naturally rot resistance wood

-- Stan (sopal@net-port.com), July 26, 2001.

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