CMRA MEETING: CCA Seen as Critical Wood Recycling Issue

Treated wood problematic as it enters C&D materials stream.

Wood treated with copper chromium arsenate (CCA) will present potential recycled wood products contamination, a regulator from the State of Florida told attendees of the C&D World conference in Fort Lauderdale.

Laws are being passed in several states confining scrapped CCA-treated wood to lined landfills, noted William Hinkley of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).

Hinkley, chief of the Bureau of Solid and Hazardous Waste in the Florida DEP, cited Florida, Virginia and New York as states that have identified CCA-treated wood as a potential hazard because of the presence of arsenic and hexavalent chromium.

CCA-treated wood is most often used in outdoor applications such as decking, fences and exterior stairways, said Hinkley, who added that most C&D recyclers who process wood currently try to hand separate CCA-treated wood before it is shredded or otherwise processed.

When treated wood enters a recycled wood product such as landscaping mulch, it can boost the presence of arsenic and hexavalent chromium well above levels identified as unsafe by the U.S. EPA. Hinkley related one anecdote of two homeowners in Key Largo, Fla., who contracted arsenic poisoning allegedly from a load of contaminated mulch.

CCA-treated wood became popular in the late 1970s because of its ability to repel insect infestations. One study conducted for Florida estimates that more than 30,000 tons of arsenic has entered the Sunshine State in the form of treated wood since the 1970s. “Recyclers are seeing it now because it is being retired as building stock,” Hinkley noted.

The good news is that CCA is being phased out in favor of less toxic copper-based treatments. But recyclers will continue to face the challenge of identifying and sorting the material out when it enters their facilities.

CCA-treated wood is also bringing scrutiny to C&D recyclers because of its ability to cause ground water contamination problems.

The C&D World conference, sponsored by the Construction Materials Recycling Association (CMRA), took place in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Jan. 19-22.