The return of copper napthenate

lft HnNrs ro rHE efforts of Nisus I- Corp.. Rockford. Tn.. copper naphthenate is once again available as a wood preservative for pressure treated railroad ties, telephone poles, bridge timbers, and other industrial wood products.

"If the industry lost this product, it would immediately increase the use of non-wood alternatives and have a long-term detrimental effect on our industry and the environment," says Dr. Jeff Lloyd, vice president of research and development at the 22year-old company.

"We really don't have a replace- ment for copper naphthenate, " says president Kevin Kirkland. "It's one of the safest and most effective treatment solutions available for ground contact wood preservation."

Nisus' quest to save copper naphthenate began early last year, when Merichem Co., Houston, Tx., declined to re-register the chemical with the EPA and discontinued production of its CuNap-S. At the time, most plants and customers were expected to switch to pentachlorophenol-even though copper naphthenate is a general use preservative and pentachlorophenol is registered for restricted use.

Once Nisus decided that copper naphthenate would be a natural addition to its wood preservation division, Lloyd and Kirkland met with EPA officials who agreed to expedite Nisus' registration application, which was approved in August 201 1.

"Normally, the registration process takes a minimum of six months, but in this case, the EPA got it done in just six weeks without lowering any standards," says Kirkland. "You always hear stories about inefficient government or government that gets in the way of business, but in our small corner of the world, EPA got it done!"

One month after receiving EPA approval , Nisus produced its first batch of copper naphthenate-with the brand name of QNap- in a leased facility located in Dalton, Ga. By the following month, construction had started on a new 10,000-sq. ft. production plant in Rockford, Tn., which is scheduled to begin operations this lnonth.

Whcclcr l-unrbcr's treated u'oo(l clivision uscs coppcr nitphtctiatc to scrvice ull its nrarkcts-e\cn l'cncc lrosts anrl landscape tinrbcrs. Altcr l 2003 tire clcstrovccl its uood-tr.calins laciliti' in Whitewood. S.D.. thc corrt pany rebuilt and switchcrl fi'onr thrcc tl il'l'eI.'rtl ehcrttiertl\ t(r.j tt\l {rttr': CuNap-,S flunr N4e lichcnr.

'.lt's u vell clcan plocluct n() ()d{)t'. ll()l Il11rl1r-l1t1jq'." \il\ \ \ ir'\' Ill'f\iclcnt Jell Parlctt. "lt's the onll rtonte:tli.'lr'J. ttil Itu.t'tl Pt'\'\ct\itli\t' ()tl thc ntarkct. so cLrstonrers arc ccttinl. tl'rc bcncfits ol'an oil basccl trcltnrcnt that hclps lubricate thc ',r'ootl cclls lncl prcvcnl srvcllirrs iulcl checking."

Altcr Mcriche rr stol'rpe-cl producit.tu CuNap-8. Whecie r lookc-d to NisLrs. "We uclc \crv Lll)sct that thc product r"'as going a\\u)." sa1's Pa|rett. ''Wc hacl .just cnor:gh to f ill orrlcrs until Nisrrs shippccl ncu' 1-rr-ocluct. so u c tlidn't have to rcturn to oth!-r chcnriclls and possiblv lose sonrc ol'ot-tt c u st()lne rs."