Laboratory simulation of leaching from creosote treated wood in aquatic exposures

IRG/WP 00-50157

Ying Xiao, J Simonsen, J J Morrell

Creosote has a long history of use as a preservative particularly in industrial wood products, but its use has come under increasing scrutiny as a result of concerns about its potential effects on aquatic and terrestrial non-target organisms. Despite its long use, there is relatively little data on the rates of creosote loss in many exposures. In this report, we describe small scale leaching tank procedures for evaluating migration from creosote-treated Douglas-fir lumber exposed at 35°C under 0 flow rate conditions. Creosote component concentrations in the water column were quantified using solid phase microextraction and gas chromatography. As expected, migration rates were higher for lower boiling point fractions. Leaching in the first eight hours followed a linear relationship for acenaphthene, dibenzofuran, fluorene, phenanthrene and fluoranthene. Chemical concentrations arrived at a steady state after 24 hrs of leaching. Concentrations of all creosote components tested tended to be lower than their reported water solubilities, suggesting that other factors were influencing migration. Further analyses of the leaching system are planned. The results will be used to expand a model that simulates creosote loss from treated wood in flowing fresh water.


Keywords: CREOSOTE; TANK LEACHING; SOLID PHASE MICROEXTRACTION; SPME

Conference: 00-05-14/19 Kona, Hawaii, USA


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