permaculture

[rrandall1 <rrandall1@houston.rr.com>]

Decades ago I worked in pesticide research.  Like many products, it  
is easier to sell something if you only report flattering research.

It should be obvious I would think that any treatment of wood that  
reduces fungal activity would be destructive to the soil food web  
basis of fertility, if not all life.  Poisons are engineered to kill  
cells, and they are almost impossible to prove safe.  Moreover the  
cost of such research is very high and exposes companies to increased  
liability if they suppress information. CCA has saturated the country  
with arsenic and some studies show it to be toxic. If you want to  
research pesticides, you will find plenty to worry about peer  
reviewed and scientific at the two sites below.

The case against CCA--chromated cupric arsenate is extensive and can  
be found at http://www.pesticide.org/factsheets.html  (look down the  
page for the right one in pdf). For creosote, do a product search at  
http://www.pesticideinfo.org/Search_Products.jsp#ProdSearch.  Both  
are considered hazardous wastes in the state of Texas and may not be  
legally composted. A railroad spokesman 15 years ago told me they  
strongly recommended against railroad tie use in gardens.

Wood is short-lived in many gardens. Either get use to that or use  
something that doesn't rot like rock, clay, or concrete rubble.

Bob Randall

On Apr 23, 2007, at 3:19 PM, Marimike6@cs.com wrote:

> LBSaltzman says

> > This paragraph bothers me.
>
> "Some organic gardening publications have claimed that these garden  
> uses are
> unsafe. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has approved the  
> use of
> CCA-treated wood for gardens. (Tests have confirmed that arsenic  
> does not leach
> from timbers used in gardens. Soil was collected from near timbers  
> that had been
> place from 6 months to 9 years.)"
>
> It gives me the willies too. A couple of years ago we had a death  
> in NC from
> someone standing to close to a drum where he was burning old pieces of
> pressure treated. There's more arsenic in that wood than you would  
> like to think
> about.
>
> And it may well be that there is more danger to creosoted timber  
> than I
> realize. But I don't think it has been demonstrated yet that it  
> poses a hazard to
> human health. Maybe I'm wrong in that.
>
> Meanwhile I won''t eat any. But I wouldn't mind picking up and  
> stacking
> railroad ties. I would wear a mask when sawing them. And I'd wash  
> my hands before
> lunch.
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