Burning treated wood symptoms. Dont burn treated wood. Pressure treated wood is treated with chemicals that inhibit deterioration. It is incredible but a single 12 foot 2 x 6 contains about 27 grams of arsenic enough arsenic to kill 250 adults. Creosote is a toxic chemical often used for commercial purposes as a wood preservative.
Follow these general safety tips to stay safe around treated wood. These are generally not a serious concern in a well ventilated fireplace but they are certainly. While the chemicals used to treat wood are not harmful when intact in the wood product studies have shown leaching to be minimal or nil they can be very harmful and even made worse when burned in open fires. Burning cca wood releases the chemical bond holding arsenic in the wood and just one tablespoon of ash from a cca wood fire contains a lethal dose of arsenic.
Never burn treated wood. If you suspect poisoning seek medical attention immediately. When normal untreated wood burns it releases some toxic gases as it is. A burning pyle of treated wood outdoors would have minimal effects yella outdoor rated pine can be treated with vari.
Seriously there is very minute danger from one small piece of wood buring in your stove. Treated wood has chemicals applied either on the surface or pressure treated deep into the wood to prevent biological degradation rot while in contact with soil andor water. And as long as it is dry any species of wood will burn well. Chips sawdust and debris from treated wood are considered hazardous waste and should not be burned or disposed of at any location other than those specified by local government agencies.
A number of possibilities come to mind considering type of treated wood exposure and duration of exposure. Burningincineration of cca wood does not destroy arsenic. The dangers of wood pressure treated with chromated copper arsenate has been grossly over exaggerated by special interest groups. The small scraps of lumber that seem to collect and multiply under back porches and in garages often make their way into wood stoves and fireplaces in the winter months.
Toxic chemicals will be emitted in the smoke and ashes from treated wood can be hazardous to livestock or wildlife. In fact you are in more danger from a splinter getting infected than from inhaling a small amount of smoke from the burning wood. According to the journal of american medical association even minute amounts of the fly ash from burning treated wood can have serious health consequences. Coming into contact with creosote through skin contact inhalation or ingestion can have serious health effects.