CSI Responds

I have read your article in the March 1997 issue of Environmental Building News, concerning CCA-treated wood and its disposal at the end of its service life. I have also read the letter to you written by Mr. Gene S. Bartlow, President and CEO of American Wood Preservers Institute (AWPI).

Chemical Specialties, Inc. has been a member and supporter of AWPI for over 15 years. In most cases, AWPI has accurately represented the pressure-treated wood industry and our company interests. And, we agree with most of the points that AWPI has made in response to your article.

However, AWPI has not accurately represented new preservatives that are being used successfully across the United States; preservatives that have been extensively tested and proven, using methods designed and approved by the American Wood Preservers Association, to be equally as effective in service as CCA.

Your article mentioned ACQ, a new preservative developed in response to increasing consumer demand for less-toxic products for use in outdoor projects. ACQ contains no chromium and no arsenic in its formulation, but imparts to wood the same long service life that consumers have come to expect from CCA-treated wood products. These treated wood products, sold in lumberyards and home centers as ACQ® Preserve®, are satisfying consumers’ outdoor building needs in our country and abroad. Thanks for your thoughtful article.

Thomas A. Bailey

Marketing Manager

Chemical Specialties, Inc.

Charlotte, North Carolina