NYTimes.com Article: Arsenic-Free Alternatives For Decking

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Arsenic-Free Alternatives For Decking

July 7, 2002

By JAY ROMANO

EARLIER this year, the Environmental Protection Agency

announced a voluntary decision by manufacturers of treated

wood to discontinue consumer sales of lumber treated with

chromated copper arsenate, a preservative that contains

arsenic, by Dec. 31, 2003.

The decision, which was announced on Feb. 12, affects all

residential uses of wood treated with the preservative,

often referred to as C.C.A., including lumber in play

equipment, decks, picnic tables, landscaping timbers,

fencing, patios and walkways. Arsenic, a chemical that

occurs naturally in small amounts, is fatal at high doses

and a known carcinogen at lower ones.

A press release by the E.P.A. at the time of the decision

said the agency had concluded that the C.C.A.-treated wood

already in place did not pose " unreasonable risks to the

public " and did not need to be removed or replaced. But

concerns regarding the use of the preservative have

prompted many homeowners to look for alternatives to the

ubiquitous greenish-brown lumber. The preservative has also

become the subject of a number of product liability suits.

" Treated wood has served well for decades and, in all

likelihood, will continue to do so in the future, " said

Huck DeVenzio, manager of marketing communications for Arch

Wood Protection, a company in Smyrna, Ga., whose

pressure-treated lumber is sold under the brand name

Wolmanized. Mr. DeVenzio said that under the agreement with

the E.P.A., the wood preservative industry can sell

C.C.A.-treated lumber for residential purposes for another

year and a half. " But for those who would rather not use

lumber treated with C.C.A., " he said, " there are already

alternatives out there. "

One alternative, Mr. DeVenzio said, is lumber treated with

a different preservative. Arch Wood, for example, is now

marketing lumber treated with copper azole under the brand

name Wolmanized Natural Select.

Wood is treated by immersing it under pressure in a

chemical that saturates the fibers with a substance that

makes the wood unpalatable to wood-destroying insects and

organisms like termites and certain fungus. Since the

mid-1970's, Mr. DeVenzio said, manufacturers have used

chromated copper arsenate to make pressure-treated wood for

outdoor use. As a result of increasing customer demand for

preservatives that do not contain arsenic, Mr. DeVenzio

said the company has switched to copper azole, which

contains no harmful substances.

" Natural Select will have the same warranty as Wolmanized

lumber, the lifetime of the purchaser, " he said. " The only

difference is that it will cost from 10 to 30 percent

more. "

Chemical Specialties of Charlotte, N.C., also markets an

arsenic-free wood preservative using the chemical compound

alkaline copper quaternary. The preservative, known as

A.C.Q., is in lumber sold under the brand names Preserve

and Preserve Plus.

, the owner of Just Decks, a deck builder in

Toms River, N.J., said that it was important to understand

that while the chemicals used for preserving lumber will

change, and while there are nonwood alternatives to decking

materials, it will still be necessary to use

pressure-treated lumber for load-bearing parts of a deck.

" We use pressure-treated lumber for the structural parts of

the deck, " Mr. said, explaining that most

alternatives to wood, typically vinyl or composites of

plastic and recycled wood chips, are not strong enough and

cannot be used for structural purposes. But wood

alternatives can be used for the parts of the deck that

consumers are most likely to come in contact with, like the

rails and the walking surface.

" Right now, I'd say that 95 percent of the decking and

railing materials we're using are composites or vinyls, "

Mr. said. " And that's not necessarily because of the

chemicals, but because dollar for dollar, it's going to pay

over time to have a vinyl or composite system. "

While pressure-treated lumber is ideal for the structural

components of a deck, he said, it does not work well as the

walking surface or the railings. In fact, Mr. said,

a common request from customers is to have their existing

wood surface and railings replaced with vinyl or composite.

" The main advantage of vinyls and composites is that they

don't warp, crack, split or splinter, " he said.

Pressure-treated lumber can also be replaced with redwood

or cedar, which are naturally resistant to termites and

fungi, but those woods also start to deteriorate after a

few years. " Most composites will last four or five times

longer than a wood deck, " Mr. said. " So you might as

well spend a few dollars more for a composite and save

yourself the headaches. "

Zaragosa Barbosa, the owner of Austin Wholesale Decking

Supply in Austin, Tex., which distributes decking

materials, said there were nearly 50 different brands of

composite or vinyl decking materials. " They range from

all-plastic to 40 percent plastic and 60 percent wood, " he

said.

While composites come in various colors, he said, and some

even have a three-dimensional wood-grain surface, most will

fade over time. " And darker colors tend to be hotter

because they retain heat, " he said.

Cavanna, chief financial officer of the Trex

Company in Winchester, Va., which makes composite decking

material, said that composites were installed using the

same tools and techniques as with wood. " The only

difference involves spacing the boards, " he said,

explaining that when wood decking is installed, the boards

are spaced to account for shrinkage. With composite

decking, the appropriate spacing must be done at the time

of installation because composite boards do not shrink.

Mr. Cavanna said Trex decking, which costs from $1.60 to

$1.90 a linear foot for a six-inch-wide board, is about 75

percent to 80 percent more expensive than lower grades of

lumber treated with C.C.A., about 55 to 60 percent more

expensive than lumber treated with A.C.Q., and about the

same cost as premium-grade cedar or redwood.

Seitz, vice president of Playnation Play Systems,

which makes playground sets in Kennesaw, Ga., said that

since composites typically do not have load-bearing

abilities, swing sets are still made of wood.

" We manufacture some play sets out of redwood, " Mr. Seitz

said. " But in hotter, more humid climates, even redwood

tends to rot. "

An alternative, he said, is to use southern yellow pine, a

harder, stronger wood than redwood, that is treated with a

preservative like copper azole.

" We've been wildly successful with it, " Mr. Seitz said.

" The other nice thing is that the wood is injected with

paraffin, giving it a smooth feel and protection against

moisture. "

An E.P.A. spokesman, Deegan, said consumers worried

about coming in contact with copper arsenate can apply a

coating to the exposed wood on a yearly basis.

" Some studies suggest that applying certain penetrating

coatings like oil-based, semitransparent stains may reduce

the migration of wood preservative chemicals from

C.C.A.-treated wood, " Mr. Deegan said. He added that

" film-forming " coatings or nonpenetrating stains are not

recommended because they tend to peel and flake.

Additional information can be found on the agency's Web

site at www.epa.gov/pesticides/citizens

/cca_qa.htm.  

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