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Termite Response to Agricultural Fiber Composites: Hemp
2005 - IRG/WP 05-10548
Industrial hemp, Cannabis sativa, is a fiber usable in manufacture of nutritional products, rope, textiles, paper and building products. Due to the illicit recreational uses of Cannabis sativa varieties with high tetrahydrocannabinol content (marijuana), hemp is not grown commercially in the United States. However, it is grown in many other nations, and has been proposed as a replacement for sugar...
J K Grace


Modelling the control of decay in freshly felled pine poles
1997 - IRG/WP 97-10206
In a recent study investigating control of decay in freshly felled pine utility poles, it became apparent that the efficacy of different treatment methods was strongly related to the size of the material being treated. A topical application of 5% w/v disodium octaborate tetrahydrate (DOT), brush applied to the cut surfaces of logs with otherwise intact bark was just as effective at excluding white...
M W Schoeman, W Van der Werf, J F Webber, D J Dickinson


Model of termite distribution in Portugal - Follow-up
2003 - IRG/WP 03-10470
In Portugal, subterranean termites of the genus Reticulitermes are indigenous and a well-established pest of wood in service. Mapping their distribution has therefore become important. A field sampling campaign was established along a North-South transect based on 50x50 km cells (Universal Transverse Mercator grid system, UTM). A variety of typical habitats, ranging from forest sites of Eucalyptu...
T Nobre, L Nunes


Termite response to Agricultural Fiber Composites: Bagasse
2005 - IRG/WP 05-10549
Bagasse, or sugarcane rind, is a fibrous by-product of sugar extraction from sugarcane, Saccharum officinarum L. Bagasse fiber performs similarly to hardwood fiber in composite board products. In laboratory studies, Formosan subterranean termites survived as well on a diet of Bagasse as on Douglas-fir wood. Field tests with a compressed Bagasse panel (produced by heat extrusion) indicated that ter...
J K Grace


Comparative study on leaching of CCA from treated timber: Modelling of emission data
1994 - IRG/WP 94-50027
Results of a comparative study on leaching of CCA from treated timber are reported. The study aims at investigating the applicability of prestandard leaching test methods for modelling purposes. Prestandards used are the European standard proposed by CEN/TC38/WG11 and NEN 7345 (Dutch prestandard for building materials). Parameters of study are type of fixation, wood species (pine - spruce), specim...
G M F Van Eetvelde, M Stevens, L Van der Mijnsbrugge


Preliminary modelling of methylisothiocyanate movement through Douglas fir transmission poles
1988 - IRG/WP 3466
Methylisothiocyanate is a volatile solid that is the active ingredient of several registered and experimental wood fumigants. Information on the sorption and diffusion of this chemical in Douglas-fir heartwood and sapwood was used to develop a two-dimensional model of fumigant movement within a single horizontal cross-section of a transmission pole. The model indicated that dry wood (14% MC) stron...
A R Zahora, P E Humphrey, J J Morrell


Risk of pulmonary damage as a result of an evaporation of ca. 50 ppb = 42 mg HF, evaporated from wood treated by difluorides
1987 - IRG/WP 3401
In this review of the literature the effects of fluorides and fluorine on man are described, especially the low level effects of inhaled HF on human beings. The term "fluoride" is used as a general term everywhere, where exact differentiation between ionic and moluecular forms or between gaseous and particulate forms is uncertain or unnecessary. The term covers all combined forms of the element, r...
H F M Nijman


Unsuitability of the limiting dose as a criterion for assessing the toxicity of preservatives to wood-destroying fungi
1974 - IRG/WP 243
In the majority of methods for investigating preservatives for wood-destroying fungi their toxicity is assessed by determining what is called the "limiting dose". This normally denotes a range of preservative solution concentrations or retentions of dry preservative in the timber, the lower value serving to indicate the amount of preservative at which is observed the expected effect, e.g. the grow...
D A Belenkov


Respiratory response of the wood boring teredinid, Lyrodus pedicellatus (Quatrefages) to copper stress
2004 - IRG/WP 04-10528
Wood boring teredinid molluscs engulf most of the wooden particles scrapped by them while actively boring into wood, obtaining nourishment for their metabolic activities. In order to protect the wooden structures from the biodeteriorating activity of such organisms, the wood is treated with different chemical formulations to prolong their service life. Copper chrome arsenic (CCA) is one such woo...
V Kuppusamy, M Balaji, M V Rao, K S Rao


An example of media response to perceived environmental problems with CCA-treated wood
1990 - IRG/WP 3564
A recent study suggested that CCA-treated wood exposed to acidic precipitation could lose significant amounts of copper chromium and arsenic resulting in loss of efficacy and possible environmental contamination. The study received wide newspaper and radio coverage in Canada, thereby heightening public concern about CCA use. Subsequent studies in our laboratory confirmed that the high losses were ...
P A Cooper


Above-Ground Durability Estimation in Australia. Results after 16 years exposure
2005 - IRG/WP 05-20314
A program of research was established in 1987 to examine the above-ground durability of a selection of timbers that are commercially significant in Australia. Test samples were assembled in an L-Joint design and placed on exposure racks in a format to replicate joinery that is exposed to the weather above ground. Both painted and unpainted material has been exposed. Test samples have been evaluat...
L P Francis, J Norton


Dutch national environmental policy strategy (NMP): Implications throughout the life cycle of treated timber and for the Dutch preservation industry
1993 - IRG/WP 93-50001-31
All overview of relevant environmental legislation and instruments for control is given for each stage of the life cycle of treated timber. Recent policy in the Netherlands has been focused around the "National Environmental Policy Strategy", in which a general policy with regard to reduction of pollution to the air, soil and water is described. The principle is one of an "Integrated Chain of Cont...
P Esser, D A Lewis, A J Pendlebury


Characterization of Poria indoor brown-rot fungi
1995 - IRG/WP 95-10094
The heterogeneous group of "Poria" fungi causing brown rot in buildings and also of wood in ground contact comprises Antrodia vaillantii, Antrodia serialis, Antrodia sinuosa, Antrodia xantha and Tyromyces placenta. These fungi have similar morphological appearance and biology. Their nomenclature has a confusing history and is still not uniform. As a consequence, misinterpretations may occur. SDS p...
O Schmidt


Industrial fixation systems: key factors, limitations and optimisation through the use of computer simulation modelling. Discussion paper
1994 - IRG/WP 94-40026
This paper briefly describes four fixation operative in the Netherlands, namely: circulating and non-circulating steam fixation cylinders, steam fixation chambers and controlled climate rooms. The general limitations of industrial practice are reviewed against the background of established fixation theory. The controlling variables, both material and process-related, for fixation processing are sp...
A J Pendlebury, M Riepen, M J Boonstra, W Gard


Assessing health risks to occupants following remedial insecticidal treatment of timber in dwellings
1998 - IRG/WP 98-50101-27
Experiments have been carried out to assess (i) the aerial concentrations of volatile wood preservative constituents, and (ii) the potential for contamination from treated surfaces, following in situ insecticidal treatment of timbers in dwellings. Using white spirit as a model for volatile constituents in the treatment of free-standing, wood-lined chambers indicated that temperature and air exchan...
R J Orsler, E D Suttie, V Rijckaert


Evaluation of impact of CCA-treated wood on the marine environment
1995 - IRG/WP 95-50040-15
This paper reviews the literature relating to the potential of CCA-treated wood to affect the marine environment and outlines the compounds required for a model which could be used to predict the environemental impact of maritime construction using such timber. Marine pilings require high loadings of CCA to provide protection from marine borers. Though loadings of 32-48 kg/m³ provide long-term pr...
R M Albuquerque, S M Cragg


The kinetics of anhydride modification reactions of wood. Experimental results and theoretical modelling
1998 - IRG/WP 98-40125
Although the chemical modification of wood remains a fertile area for research, there has been little work performed on the kinetics of the modification process. The reaction kinetics of a series of linear chain and cyclic anhydrides has been studied and activation energies of the reaction determined. The reaction kinetic profiles are determined by the relative rates of reaction of the reagent wit...
C A S Hill, J G Hillier


Chemostimulatory and chemotropic responses by fungi to preserved and unpreserved wood
1981 - IRG/WP 1134
During experiments to determine the presence of biotic connections between soil and wood at this laboratory, marked chemotropic responses to wood were demonstrated by some wood destroying micro-organism in agar culture. These were shown at some distance from bait, up to 35 mm away, and on some occasions were unaffected by the presence of toxic materials. This paper provides preliminary data on the...
G Mowe, B King


Modelling of copper emission fron treated wood leached according to NEN 7345 and ENV 1250.2
1996 - IRG/WP 96-20097
A series of water leaching experiments is carried out investigating pine and spruce treated and fixed using different copper-containing preservative solutions and process technologies. Water changes took place as prescribed in the Dutch standard NEN 7345 and the European test method ENV 1250.2, each of the leachates being chemically analysed for their copper content. Irrespective of the preservati...
G M F Van Eetvelde, S G L Michon, M Stevens


Feeding response of field populations of Coptotermes species to softwood blocks treated with non-toxic water-proofing and anti-microbial products.
2003 - IRG/WP 03-10487
The feeding response of field populations of the subterranean termite, Coptotermes lacteus, to Pinus radiata wood blocks (50 x 40 x40 mm) treated with various combinations of non-toxic and odourless water-proofing materials based on natural high molecular weight esters (TimberTreatÒ) and a new water insoluble quaternary ammonium compound (‘anti-microbial’) is described. Treated wood blocks we...
J R J French, T Pynsent, M Susic


Termite Response to Oil-Heat-Treated Norway spruce, Scots Pine and Eucalyptus Wood
2006 - IRG/WP 06-20325
The work here presented focused on the behaviour of subterranean termites (Reticulitermes grassei Clément) towards Oil-Heat-Treated (OHT) Norway spruce (Picea abies L.), Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and eucalyptus (Eucalyptus globulus Labill) wood, with a particular interest in the development of simple methods adequate to study the resistence of these materials to termite attack. Small test ...
L Nunes, T Nobre, C Welzbacher, A O Rapp


Predicting the decay resistance of timber above-ground: 1. Climate effects
2006 - IRG/WP 06-20330
Despite the benefits of using timber as a building product, it is disadvantaged by current Australian Standard durability classifications which lack the sensitivity desired by engineers and architects. To address the need for more sensitive timber service-life information in Australia, an above-ground durability research program was established in 1987. One focus of research is the relationship be...
L P Francis, J Norton


The response of the Formosan subterranean termite (Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki) to different boron compounds
2007 - IRG/WP 07-10609
Although boric acid and other boron compounds have been used since the 1800s as insecticides, their mode of action is not well understood. Borate salts, in particular sodium and zinc formulations, are effective wood preservatives and are used extensively in Hawai’i to protect building materials from both drywood (Kalotermitidae) and subterranean (Rhinotermitidae) termites. The Formosan subterra...
M C Gentz, J K Grace


Foraging Behavior of the Formosan Subterranean Termite (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae) in Response
2007 - IRG/WP 07-10605
Foragers of the Formosan subterranean termite, Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki, were allowed to tunnel in two dimensional, sand filled arenas containing Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii [Mirb.] Franco) wafers pressure treated with disodium octaborate tetrahydrate (DOT) to an average retention of 1.77 % BAE on one side of each arena, and untreated wafers of Douglas-fir on the other side. Arenas w...
C E Campora, J K Grace


Seasonal response of feeding, differentiation, and growth in the eastern subterranean termite Reticulitermes flavipes (Kollar) in Wisconsin
2007 - IRG/WP 07-10604
In termites, differentiation plasticity in undifferentiated Reticulitermes progresses with growth stages from larvae to workers, which may then differentiate into soldiers, winged nymphs, or neotenics. Although studies have been done on seasonality of the termite life cycle, data appears to vary from location to location. Reticulitermes populations in Wisconsin appear to behave slightly differentl...
R A Arango, F Green III, G R Esenther


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