BABE-BOLYAI UNIVERSITY

Faculty of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering

PENTACHLOROPHENOL (PCP) IN WOOD

TREATMENT

Academic:
Conf. dr. ing. Castelia Cristea
Teodora

Student:
Gavri Iulia-

Advanced Chemical Process Engineering

1. INTRODUCTION

Wood is a hard, fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other
woody plants. It has been used for thousands of years for both fuel and as a construction

material

The wood-preserving industry

treats lumber with various
chemicals to protect against
insect damage and decay.

Wood Chemicals:
-Creosote
-Pentachlorophenol (PCP)
-Metal salts made from chromium, copper, arsenic, or zinc

2. PENTACHLOROPHENOL (PCP)
- Organochlorine compound used as a pesticide and a disinfectant.
- First produced in the 1930s, it is marketed under many trade names.
- Found in two forms: PCP itself or as the sodium salt of PCP

3. PROCESS DESCRIPTION

Wood preserving using PCP employs either a pressure process (Figure

1) or a thermal process (Figure 2) to impregnate the wood with the
preservative chemical.

Fig. 1- Flow Diagram - Wood Preservation Using Pentachlorophenol Pressure

Process

Fig. 2- Flow Diagram - Wood Preservation Using Pentachlorophenol Thermal Proces

4. HEALT AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT RISK ASSESSMENT

ACGIH TLV--American Conference of
Governmental and Industrial Hygienists'
threshold limit value expressed as a timeweighted average; the concentration of a
substance to which most workers can be
exposed without adverse effects.
LC50 (Lethal Concentration50)--A calculated
concentration of a chemical in air to which
exposure for a specific length of time is expected
to cause death in 50% of a defined experimental
animal population.
NIOSH IDLH -- National Institute of Occupational
Safety and Health's immediately dangerous to
life or health concentration; NIOSH
recommended exposure limit to ensure that a
worker can escape from an exposure condition
that is likely to cause death or immediate or
delayed permanent adverse health effects or
prevent escape from the environment.
NIOSH REL--NIOSH's recommended exposure
limit; NIOSH-recommended exposure limit for an
8- or 10-h time-weighted-average exposure
and/or ceiling.
OSHA PEL--Occupational Safety and Health
Administration's permissible exposure limit
expressed as a time-weighted average; the
concentration of a substance to which most
workers can be exposed without adverse effect
averaged over a normal 8-h workday or a 40-h
workweek.

Fig.3 - Health Data from Inhalation Exposure

5. ALTERNATIVES

For impregnation of wood products, there are several satisfactory

alternatives. Wood products that do not need impregnation can be used,
or other impregnation agents or other surface treatment less hazardous
to health and the environment can be used.

It is also possible to use other materials such as steel (which can be

recovered), fibreglass, cement/concrete which has a lifetime that is
almost twice as long as PCP-processed wood.

Some materials do not need the level of maintenance as impregnated

wood, and do not need to be processed as hazardous waste.

PCP is used in yarn and textiles to reduce mould and insects. There are
alternative chemicals less hazardous to health and the environment,
which have similar effects on mould and insects.

6.CONCLUSIONS

PCP is a priority hazardous substance, and national goals have

been established for phasing it out.

Documentation shows that PCP has serious effects on health and

the environment, and it has been detected in the environment.

Products with PCP also contribute to emissions of dioxins and

furans, which have serious effects on health and the environment.
The proposed regulation will fill this gap in the current regulation
of PCP.

In addition, dioxins are known to be generated from PCP

photochemically, by burning of treated wood, and via the
corresponding predioxins, but any contribution of these sources
to human exposure has not been evaluated.

7. RECOMANDATIONS

The following recommendations are intended to

implement three general objectives:

1.The exposure of humans and economic animals to

PCP and its impurities must be defined andminimized.
2. The indiscriminate use of PCP products (e.g., most
home uses) should be limited, in favorof essential uses.
3.The quality of technical PCP should be improved.

Thanks for your

attention!