Pressure treated Southern pine market growing

Bv J. W. Sullivan Executive Director Southern Pressure Treaters Association Shreveport, La.

DRESSURE-TREATMENT is f- true conservation. The biological degraders that destroy wood in the forest can threaten wood in man-made structures. Decay fungi, living plants that use wood as food, can attack whenever wood's moisture content exceeds the fibersaturation point (over 3090) and when favorable temperatures and adequate oxygen are available. As wood decays it loses strength, but by the time damage becomes visible it is too late to save the wood. Termites, and other common wood-eating insects, live on wood's cellulose and may attack untreated wood wherever it is used.

Story at a Glance

Pressure lreated Southern pine export market growing . . . domestic market expands for d-i.y, remodeling Southern Pressure Treaters Association educates public.

By impregnating wood with preservatives that render it useless as food for fungi and insects, industry produces a material that remains sound indefinitely. Through pressure-treatment, wood becomes an economical material for many applications where untreated wood can't be used, reducing the drain on exhaustible metals and minerals used for other building products.

Pressure-treatment of Southern pine dimension lumber is an expanding market for do-it-yourselfers, remodeling and fix-up of homes. Of all Southern pine dimension lumber manufactured in the South, 2lt/o is pressure-treated, mainly with salts preservatives.

In addition to the domestic market, the export market is growing, primarily in the Caribbean area with 75 q0 of all Southern pine dimension lumber sent there pressure treated before being exported. Approximately 3-590 of all Southern pine dimension lumber goes into the export market. In addition to lumber, Southern Pressure Treaters Association members export Southern pine poles to serve the electrification need in many countries such as Bangladesh, Syria, Saudi Arabia, and South Africa.

Millions of creosoted hardwood crossties are pressure treated each year along with a large quantity of marine piling, which is either creosoted or treated by the dual treatments of creosote and CCA Salts preservative.

There are two broad classes of pressure/protective treatments: (1) preservative treatment for protection against decay, insects, and marine organisms. (2) fire-retardant treatment. Those in category (1) fall into three broad groups: creosote, oilborne and waterborne

Creosote: Creosote and creosote./ coal-tar solutions.

Oilborne: Pentachlorophenol: copper-8-quinolinolate; and tributyl-tin oxide.

Waterborne: Acid copper chromate (ACC). Ammoniacal copper arsenate (ACA). Chromated copper arsenate (CCA). Chromated zinc chloride (CZC). Fluor chrome arsenate phenol (FCAP).

Lumber, timber, plywood and

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