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Poison
Poles - A Report About Their Toxic Trail and Safer Alternatives
The Toxic Trail
The Toxic
Trail
Forestry
Practices
Chemical Production
Chemical Treatment of Wood
Storage of Treated Poles
Treated Poles in Use
Disposal & Recycling
Transportation
The Toxic
Impact of Wood Utility Poles from Cradle to Grave
In order to fully
illustrate the human health and environmental impact of wood preservatives,
it is critical to understand how a tree becomes a pole or another
treated wood product and the production process of the chemicals used
to preserve wood.
It is not enough
to evaluate the hazards associated with the use of wood preservatives,
although their use alone creates severe hazards. The toxic trail
of treated wood, from cradle to grave, must be considered. At each
step, from the planting and growing of trees to the production of
wood preservatives to the treatment of poles to their disposal,
there are serious health and environmental hazards that must be
considered. There have been several scientific attempts at conducting
a life cycle analysis of utility poles. The different cycle phases
have been identified as (i) raw material, (ii) processing, (iii)
operation and service, (iv) destruction, and (v) reuse.0
Overview of
Cradle-to-Grave Process
Wood poles start
out as premium trees, higher quality than those usually used for lumber.
Trees are stripped down to a uniform size, dried, then treated with
preservatives. Wood preservatives must be highly toxic and persistent
biocides to stop the natural process of decay. Some are derived from
petroleum or coal tar, others from minerals. Chemically-treated poles
are widely distributed, bringing a mini-Superfund site to virtually
everyone's backyard. After the use life of approximately 40 years,
the poles are casually discarded. Some go to landfills, some are reused
after modifications, and some are recycled into fence posts or landscape
material. Meanwhile, the emissions and waste from chemical manufacturing
and wood treatment facilities bring high toxic burdens to communities
across the country.
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