A review of standards and legislative requirements around the world relating to environmental contamination from copper-chrome-arsenic wood preservative indicates a plethora of methodologies for expressing and determining contamination levels. The imposition of arbitrary quarantine periods for treated timber, or special fixation processes, appear to be applied without a rational analysis of what leads to site contamination. It is argued that there needs to be an internationally agreed standard, which defines unacceptable levels of groundwater and soil contamination and that the contamination potential of freshly treated timber be expressed in terms of the leaching potential of treated timber rather than a specified percentage fixation level. In-situ monitoring of leachate from copper-chrome-arsenic treated timber indicates that chrome is a preferable element for monitoring potential contamination of soil environments whilst copper is more relevant for aquatic environments. Arsenic was found to be the least suitable element for monitoring potential contamination levels from CCA treated timber.

Download document (573 kb)
free for the members of IRG. Available if purchased.

Purchase this document