The Treated Wood Council has completed a quantitative evaluation of the environmental impacts associated with the national production, use, and disposition of treated wood and galvanized steel highway guard rail posts using life cycle assessment (LCA) methodologies and following ISO 14044 standards. The results for treated wood guard rail posts are significant. • Less Energy & Resource Use: Treated wood highway guard rail posts require less total energy and less fossil fuel than galvanized steel highway guard rail posts. • Lower Environmental Impacts: Treated wood highway guard rail posts have lower environmental impacts than galvanized steel highway guard rail posts in five of six impact indicator categories assessed: anthropogenic greenhouse gas, total greenhouse gas, acid rain, ecotoxicity, and smog-causing emissions. • Offsets Fossil Fuel Use: Reuse of treated wood highway guard rail posts for energy recovery in permitted facilities with appropriate emission controls will further reduce greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere, while offsetting the use of fossil fuel energy. Impact indicator values were normalized to better support comparisons between products and to understand the quantitative significance of indicators. Product normalization sets the cradle-to-grave life cycle value of treated wood highway guard rail posts to one (1.0) with galvanized steel highway guard rail post impact indicator values being a multiple of one (if larger) or a fraction of one (if smaller).

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