The microbial defacement of freshly-felled timber treated with organic biocides continues to be a major problem in stored lumber. As part of a study to investigate the depletion in chemical activity of methylene-bis-thiocyanate (MBT) in green timber, bacteria were isolated from freshly-felled boards of Corsican pine (Pinus nigra var. maritima Arnold) previously treated with different biocides. The ability of pure cultures of bacteria to detoxify 100 ppm MBT in liquid culture was tested using High Performance Liquid Chromatography. All of the bacterial cultures tested caused detoxification of MBT. There was a statistically significant relationship between the level of detoxification caused by the bacteria and the final pH of the solutions. At pH values of greater than 5.85, this relationship was linear. At pH values of less than 5.85, results were more variable suggesting that factors other than pH were involved in the detoxification of MBT. The significance of these results is discussed.

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