“Guidance for the Management and Disposal of CCA-Treated Wood” has been released by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) as a guide for handling the chromium copper aresenate treated wood.
While this document does not create any standards or criteria which must be followed by the regulated community, the DEP expects it will be helpful to operations managing treated wood when they consider alternate ways to deal with this material stream.
The document was partially formed from a technical assistance group that included researchers, government officials and industry representatives.
According to the document, research conducted by Dr. Helena Solo-Gabriele, University of Miami, shows that the amount of this wood being disposed of after it reached the end of its service life was expected to increase significantly in the near future. In addition, while not clearly confirmed by groundwater data from Florida’s unlined disposal facilities, research by Dr. Timothy Townsend of the University of Florida indicates that CCA-treated wood and ash from burning this wood could pose a significant leaching threat to groundwater if disposed of in unlined disposal facilities in Florida. The research also shows that the ash from burning wood debris containing as little as 5 percent CCA-treated wood could be considered a characteristic hazardous waste because of the high arsenic concentrations in the ash.
The document contains helpful information such as how to identify treated wood and recommendations for generating, collecting and recycling treated wood. However the document clearly states, “At this time there are no acceptable recycling alternatives for CCA-treated wood, other than reuse of discarded lumber, timbers and poles through reuse and salvage centers.”
It then goes through several best management practices for handling the material. It finishes with frequently asked questions and several references.
An electronic copy of the document is available at www.dep.state.fl.us/waste/quick_topics/publications/shw/solid_waste/CC
A_BMP_GuideFinalJune2006.pdf.
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