Development of a Standard for Preservative Treated Wood to be used in the Arctic

IRG/WP 19-20677

J N R Ruddick

There is ongoing interest in the Arctic with political, environmental and recreational developments almost daily. The impact of global warming on loss of permafrost and sea ice is widely reported. In the last three years several cruise ships have traversed the North West Passage. This increased activity has resulted in the recognition of the need for an increased infrastructure. Historically, the material of choice has been untreated wood., although some buildings with treated wood piling has been built. In 2007 Canada like many other countries adopted the International Standard Organization (ISO) based approach to standardizing treated wood. While this standard has achieved more widespread use and understanding of preservative treated wood, it is flawed when the use of treated wood in the Arctic is considered, since the impact of temperature is concerned. This paper explores an approach to the development of a Use Category for preservative treated wood to be used in the Arctic.


Keywords: wood buildings, arqctic, global warming, Franklin, UCS

Conference: 19-05-12/16 Quebec City, Canada


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