Burning pressure treated wood is a really bad idea. The exposure to arsenic through the smoke and ashes is a real threat. Arsenic is a potent neurotoxin and exposure to it has been implicated in a whole host of nasty diseases. The only person you are fooling by not getting "caught" is yourself or you unsuspecting friends downwind.
I don't think arsenic has been used in PT wood for like 16 years. Unless it's an old deck or something, it shouldn't contain arsenic. BUT, probably should still light it and watch it from a good ways away to avoid the smoke! We'll probably find out here in a few years the newer chemicals they use are just as bad, but for now....
I try not to burn treated wood and stuff just to protect ole Mother Nature. But I don’t get obsessive about it as fires in west burn houses, cars roads etc etc
Excellent points Dave. At FHC we pride ourselves on sharing our knowledge- of proper stove performance and firewood preparation, among other things... this should include what we burn in our outdoor pits and such. Part of what we also share is our caring for each other, and to a large extent the environment. This is why we choose to heat with a renewable resource. And after all, many of us found the site by way of an Internet search, and best practices should always be promoted.
You are correct, the use of arsenic in PT wood was stopped in 2003, it is still available for marine and agricultural applications. New treatments of PT wood are copper compounds which while non toxic when they leach into the ground are still toxic when burned. Once the label is removed and the wood weathers it can be difficult to tell whether the wood is CCA wood or a newer treatment wood.
exactly I burnt some cedar fence 15 years old, it looked clean BUT I did not pay for test probably should have why I say I try not am NOT obsessive.
Right, people are going to do whatever, just wanted to make the point be known, sorry for the derail...back to the fire pics
Understood completely! Any man that trains his dogs, hounds no less, to come back after they jump a rabbit during the chaos at a GTG has earned the right to be heard. My opinion
I appreciate the info...Most likely will still burn any small amounts of PT waste that I make at my house and take the risk. Over the years, I have worked at a Shipyard, Pulp and Paper Mills, Steel Mills, Foundry's, Auto Plants, Chemical Plants and most likely any other Factory/Mill you can think of...I figure I have been exposed to much worse than PT wood fumes.
Really not wishing to beat a dead horse here, but its my understanding that the damage can be a cumulative effect for some diseases, throw in personal experience and genetics of the individual (my daddy did it this way his whole life) and it can seem like a crap shoot to most folks so they end up taking your approach. So as the safety guys like to say ALARA. Is it reasonable to just not throw the PT on the pile?, for me it is.
Our turn. We mostly burnt the branches from the elms we took down. We were up there with Holly and sitting there looking at the pile. We were going to have it tonight but changed our minds. Took a run down to the house and packed up some beer and some paper and off we went.
We had a pretty spectacular bonfire this weekend. I took some junk pallets I had hanging around, and stacked them about 6' high in the fire pit. The flames reached as high as 20'+. My wife was a little uh "concerned" My aunt who was on the deck about 40'-45' away said she could feel the heat from the deck.
As it is considered hazardous waste you're not supposed to. A neighbor could call the local EPA office and they might send agents out and have a really long talk with the parties involved. That's what it took to get a neighbor to stop burning household garbage in an outdoor fire pit along with fresh cut brush from his part time landscaping business after he ignored visits and warnings from the local PD and FD.
The only thing with tall fires, is you have to be watchful for leaners. This one did start to lean to the left once the pallets started giving way. I pre wet the ground around the pit, for at least 10', and had a hose at the ready. I was actually able to pull this back towards the center of the pit with a long handled all steel hoe I made.
