Wood is an excellent building material. Wood is strong, lightweight, easy to handle with hand tools, and a relatively cheap building material. The only problem with the tree is that a large number of bacteria, fungi and insects find it appetizing. When wood is in contact with the ground or moisture for any length of time, these organisms attack it. Untreated wood like pine will only last a year or two if it comes into contact with wet soil..
But in the country, we often need to use wood. Building a fence, setting up a greenhouse, and so on — it’s all a tree in the ground. And here wood treated with preservatives and pressure comes to the rescue..
Chromium, copper and arsenic.
During processing, the lumber is sealed in a tank where air is collected, leaving a vacuum. A solution containing chromium, copper and arsenic is added to impregnate the wood. Chromium is bactericidal (protects against bacteria), copper is fungicidal (protects against fungi), and arsenic is insecticidal (kills insects). All three are toxic, but chromium and copper aren’t as questionable as arsenic..
If you don’t inhale chromium, it is not particularly harmful to you, and copper is not too toxic to mammals, although it is harmful to aquatic organisms and fungi. Arsenic is alarming..
Chemically treated wood is generally not very good for humans, so we advise against leaving gloves on the fence, breathing sawdust when trying to chop up old greenhouse planks, and refraining from burning chemically treated wood..
But is it all that bad?
Arsenic is everywhere. When this gray, metal-like element is combined with oxygen, chlorine and sulfur, it is considered inorganic arsenic. If carbon is part of the combination, then the arsenic becomes organic. The inorganic form of arsenic is dangerous for humans. And it is just used in woodworking. Inorganic arsenic accumulates in living tissues, where it interacts with cell enzymes and impairs metabolism. But we are exposed to organic arsenic every day — through soil, water and food, but it is largely eroded before it harms us..
As for inorganic arsenic, some scientists say that we can consume a certain amount of it (up to 0.3 μg per knock per kilogram of weight) and it will not have an impact on health. Roughly speaking, what the specialist says is that the average woman weighing 60 kg will have to eat 18 micrograms of arsenic per day for many years to feel the negative effects. That is, treated wood in a fence or greenhouse is unlikely to harm your health, but it will save your structure from pests.
