Environmental Impacts of Treated Wood

edited by Timothy G. Townsend and Helena Solo-Gabriele. CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida, 2006. Hardcover, 501 pages, $139.95.

With greater awareness of environmental safety and health following the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) ban on most lumber treated with chromated copper arsenate (CCA), consumers, builders and architects want a safe, effective, durable wood product. Meanwhile, the chemical treatment industry is on the defensive, while at the same time searching for new solutions, and both new and established companies are hawking a variety of alternatives. In short, the treated wood industry is in major transition, as we discuss in the feature story in this issue (see page 1), and a new book,

Environmental Impacts of Treated Wood, offers a dense and academic—but readable—guide to many of the key issues.

Edited by Timothy G. Townsend and Helena Solo-Gabriele, two Florida-based researchers, the book offers 26 chapters on topics including the environmental impacts of chemical leaching, assessment and management of health risks, and reuse, recycling, and bioremediation of treated wood. An introductory section offers an excellent background, including a history of CCA, a survey of alternatives focusing on chemical treatment, and a guide to regulation in Europe, Asia, and Oceania.

This book is an excellent reference for anyone with a serious interest in understanding today’s environmental problems resulting from the more conventional treated wood products. As the industry continues to evolve, however, we will need a similar guide to the research on tomorrow’s environmentally friendly wood protection and preservaton alternatives.

– Tristan Roberts