Treated wood, once boon to carpentry, now seen as environmental waste

COMMENTARY /// Eye on the Environment



 

 

Treated wood is common not only in railroad ties and telephone poles, but also in household construction such as fence posts, sill plates, landscape timbers, pilings, guardrails and decking.

When rules concerning the disposal of treated wood expire at the end of December, the product could become much more expensive to discard.

According to the website of the California Department of Toxic Substances Control, treated wood “contains hazardous chemicals that pose a risk to human health and the environment.”

The chemicals protect the wood from insect attack and fungal decay, but “harmful exposure to these chemicals may result from touching, inhaling or ingesting.”

Inhaling and ingesting particles of treated wood most commonly occur through exposure to sawdust or smoke.

Last year, the California Department of Toxic Substances Control issued a report that showed widespread noncompliance with “alternative management standards” regarding handling, storage and disposal of treated wood without requiring treated wood waste to be handled as hazardous waste.

According to the report, about 60% of inspections resulted in citations of one or more violations.

After the report came out, regulators and legislators tried to come up with new ways to keep people safe from the dangers of treated wood waste, but nothing has yet been enacted, so the regulations allowing treated wood waste to be handled with alternative management standards expire on Dec. 31.

Starting the next day, the red font on the website shouts, “All hazardous treated wood waste managed in California will have to be stored and manifested as hazardous waste and transported to class I hazardous waste landfills.”

Early in November, the California Product Stewardship Council, a nonprofit group advocating for manufacturers and retailers to take responsibility for the costs and impact of their products’ life cycles, emailed a warning to its listserv.

Doug Kobold, the council’s executive director, wrote, “At this point, I am hearing costs of $500/ ton for transportation and disposal (of treated wood) in a Class I landfill, so a remedy needs to be found quickly.”

The Simi Valley Landfill and Recycling Center currently accepts treated wood from Ventura County customers for $80 per ton, requiring advanced reservations for burial in a specially prepared area of the landfill. Toland Road, the only other landfill in Ventura County, does not accept treated wood.

One potential response could be emergency regulations, but Kobold expressed doubt that public agencies have authority for such regulations without new legislation. Another potential resolution is an urgency bill extending the current regulations for a specified period, but such a bill would require a two-thirds vote, according to Kobold. A new bill may be needed.

The likely result will be a surge of disposal in the next month, followed by widespread stockpiling until new regulations emerge.

For more information, visit dtsc.ca.gov/toxics-in-products/ treated-wood-waste.

David Goldstein is an environmental analyst with the Ventura County Public Works Agency and can be reached at (805) 658-4312 or by email at david.goldstein@ventura.org.