D24—Lancaster Fanning, Saturday, October 27,1984
Treated wood designations cause confusion
NEWARK, Del. If you’ve
looked for pressure treated wood
at your local lumberyard lately for
a building project, you may have
been confused by what’s available.
The old standbys-creosote and
penta treated boards--have
generally been replaced by lumber
bearing a string of initials.
These initials stand for various
chemical salts with long, rather
unpronounceable names. Some
treatments offer better protection
than others, so check to be sure the
wood you buy is suited to its in
tended use.
To help do-it-yourself builders
select the right type of treated
wood for their projects, University
of Delaware extension agricultural
engineer Dr. Jim Scarborough has
assembled the following in
formation on wood treatments,
their effectiveness and
availability.
Creosote. This treatment has
been around since 1838 and is very
effective against termite and
decay damage. A black or
brownish oil made by distilling
coal tar, it has a pungent odor and
the fumes are harmful to plants.
Since creosote treated wood tastes
bad, it is often used on stalls and
fences to keep horses from
chewing on them.
Direct contact with freshly
creosoted lumber can cause skin
irritation, though the probability
declines as the treatment ages. In
addition, freshly treated lumber
catches fire easily and produces a
dense smoke. But again, this
danger lessens with age. Another
problem is that you can’t paint
creosote treated wood because the
oils bleed out.
With all these problems, why use
it? “Because it does its job very
well,” says Scarborough. “If it
didn’t, power companies and
railroads wouldn’t use it. But these
drawbacks do make it a less than
ideal building material, and
creosote treated lumber generally
is no longer available at lumber
yards. So, if you yearn for the
smell of creosote in your new barn,
your best bet is to contact the local
Livestock Producers, Feedlot Operat
Ranchers and Dairy Farmers —
saveOn\bur 7
GraiiißiU!
O Buy when grain
prices are lowest*
0 Put in ample grain storage.
% Cram prices have consistently been lowest right after harvest when supplies are largest—as
much as 50% lower than m the spring So put in gram storage bins and save on your gram bill
by buying when prices are lower For those producers who grow gram on the farm storage en
ables (hem to not only store gram for their own use but to buy additionally needed gram or to
hold surplus gram until the market price increases
Dry And Store Grain the Long Economical Way!
Long's line of grain bins and stor
age tanks are available in a full range
of sizes from 15 to 90 diameters,
with capacities from 1,350 to 300,000
bushels
They re easier to erect because
the wall sheets are precision rolled
and punched for a better fit They're
faster because the wall sheets are 44
inches wide requiring fewer sheets
and bolts And there s no need for a
separate foundation ring because
Marion Center, Pa. Prospect, Pa.
DILTZ FARM SUPPLY FUNNER IMPLEMENT
RD #2 RT#l
412/865-9606 412/865-2600
power company and find out what
they do with their old poles. ’ ’
Penta or pentachlorophenol was
first used in the 1930 s and came
into extensive use after 1950. This
treatment consists of a heavy or
light oil containing 5 percent penta.
The heavy oils preserve better but
don’t take paint; the light ones are
paintable and so are generally
used. According to Scarborough,
penta is less toxic to plants than
creosote, but may damage plastic
films which come in contact with
it. Keep this in mind if you’re
building a plastic covered
greenhouse.
“There’s some indication that
lumber freshly treated with penta
may present a health hazard to
livestock through foodstuffs which
come in contact with the
chemical,” the specialist cautions.
During 1976-77 in Michigan, eight
diary herds were quarantined
after penta was identified m tissue
cultures. The penta was though to
be contaminated iwth dioxin.
Howver, no other reports of penta
related animal illness are on
record.
“To be on the safe side,”
Scarborough says, “don’t use
penta treated lumber for feed
bunks, hay racks or other struc
tures in which feed comes in
contact with the treated wood. But
I wouldn’t shy away from it for
regular building construction if
you can find it. That may be dif
ficult since many lumberyards no
longer stock it.”
Now for the salt preservatives,
or alphabet soup. These preser
vatives are salt compounds of
several chemicals. And since the
names are so long, they’re iden
tified by initials; ACA (Am
moniacal Copper Arsenate), CCA
(Chromated Copper Arsenate),
ACC (Acid Copper Chromate and
FCAP (Fluor Chrome Arsentate
Phenol).
In these preservatives, water,
ammonia or acid is the carrier.
After treatment the carrier
evaporates, leaving the salts to
protect the wood. Lumber
preserved in this way is relatively
' ra ’^*Tr."
the bottom ring is flanged to seal it
to the concrete foundation
Long bins are made of very strong
structural steel The standard bins
are warranted lor the use of stirring
devices and the heavy duty bins do
not require wall stiffeners when us
mg recirculating devices
Long also offers a complete line
of grain handling and drying equip
ment—all outstanding equipment
and it s all available from one source
clean, odorless and suitable for
painting. It’s nontoxic to plants
and considered safe when in
contact with feed. It also is what’s
generally available at the lum
beryard. In some cases these
preservatives are identified by
trade names rather than initals
Greensalt, Koppers (CCA),
Wolmanac (CCA) or Woodlast
(CCA), to name just a few.
According to Scarborough, most
lumberyards now carry wood
treated with 0.4 pcf (pounds per
cubic foot) CCA, which is only
suitable for above ground or non
soil contact use. The service life of
this amount of CCA for in-ground
use has not yet been determined,
but test stakes treated with less
than 0.6 pcf CCA or ACA do not last
well in soil. In tests conducted in
Mississippi, 10 percent of the
stakes treated with 0.44 pcf had
termite damage after 25 years.
The following table summarizes
the amounts of various preser
vatives recommended by the
American Wood Preservers
Association for different uses. The
letters NR indicate the material is
not recommended. All values are
in pcf.
NEW CUMBERLAND - The
Penn State Cooperative Extension
Service, Pennsylvania Portable
Sanitation Ass’n, and The Penn
sylvania Liquid Waste Haulers
Ass’n. will jointly sponsor a Sep
tage Management Conference
March 28-30, 1985 at the Sheraton-
Harnsburg Inn, New Cumberland.
The program is being planned to
provide information on the most
appropriate technology for septage
treatment and disposal; liability
and workman’s compensation
insurance for septage haulers; and
the role of Pennsylvania Depart
ment of Enviornmental Resources
and municipalities in treating and
disposing of septage.
IJr
Septage conference planned
Use
Fence Posts
Structural Posts
Lumber:
Ground contact
Not in soil contact
Plywood:
Ground contact
Not in soil contact
Foundations
Greenhouses:
Above contact
Above ground
Don’t be surprised if you have to
ask a lumberyard to special order
the correct amount of preservative
in treated lumber,” concludes
Scarborough. “And don’t be
dissuaded by sales people who try
to sell you what’s in stock instead.
Remember, now you probably
know more about the wood you
need than they do.”
On February 1, 1985, the En
vironmental Protection Agency
Manufacturers and distributors consultants, and public officials
of equipment relating to septage are invited to attend. A copy of the
management and paortable toilets proposed agenda and information
will be invited to set up exhibits of on renting exhibit space can be
their wares. .obtained by contacting - Joseph A.
All haulers of sewage wastes,
Sewage Treatment plant
managers, and engineers and
Creosote Penta ACC ACA
6.0-7.0 0.30 0.50 0.40
12.0 0.60 NR 0.60
0.50
0.25
10.0
8.0
10.0
8.0
NR
0.5
0.4
NR
NR
NR
NR
NR
will restrict the sale of creosote,
penta and arsenic compounds to
certified applicators. The
University of Delaware
Cooperative Extension Service will
offer a course this fall to
professional carpenters, farmers
and do-it-yourselfers for cer
tification in the use of these wood
preservatives. Times and locations
will be announced as they become
available.
Macialek, Penn State Cooperative
Extension Service, Room 5, 200
Adams Ave., Scranton, Pa. 18503.
READ
LANCASTER FARMING
FOR COMPLETE
AND UP-TO-DATE
MARKET REPORTS
CCA
0.40
0.60
0.40
0.25
0.40
0.25
0.62
0.25
0.40
0.25
0.60
0.40
0.25
0.60
0.62
0.25
NR
0.40
0.25
NR
NR
0.40
0.25