Pressure Treated Wood as Marine Debris

I've focused most of my beach cleanups on plastics, but have noticed a large increase in PRESSURE TREATED WOOD along the beaches of Marrowstone Island. And so, I sent out an all call to the National Marine Educators Association on Scuttlebutt..........

Several people warned NOT TO ALLOW CHILDREN TO PICK UP THIS FORM OF DEBRIS.
and NEVER BURN THIS TYPE OF PRESSERVED WOOD.

The following information from a fact sheet of the Ecology Center http://www.ecologycenter.org/ offers good explanation for its toxic qualities. High levels of arsenic are a major concern. Here is a brief section of their review:

By far the most common type of pressure treated wood is designated PT CCA (Pressure Treated Chromated Copper Arsenate). The basic elements involved are copper, chromium, and arsenic. In CCA treated wood, the chromium acts as the bactericide, copper as the fungicide, and arsenic as the insecticide. Even though all three are toxic, the chromium and copper don't raise many concerns (although maybe they should). If we don't inhale it, chromium is not particularly harmful, and copper is not very toxic to mammals, although it is to aquatic life. It's the arsenic that is worrisome. All of these compounds are stable and do not break down into other, less harmful substances in the environment.


Pressure treated wood has been in common use for about forty years and much of that is coming out of service and becoming a waste product. The companies that produce this product claim that the compounds are chemically locked to the wood itself and therefore not a hazard to human health and the environment. This statement is mostly true as far as it goes. What they don't tell us is that leaching does occur and that leaching is accelerated by acidic conditions such as is produced by acid rain or occurs during the composting process. A study by the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station found an average arsenic concentration of 76 ppm under old CCA treated decks. The state limit is 10 ppm.7 In another East-coast study, soil under an 8-year old deck was found to have 7.7 times the copper concentration, 3 times the chromium concentration, and 31.4 times the arsenic concentration as samples taken at least 15 feet away. It is clear that leaching does occur, at least in areas with high levels of acid rain.

The EPA has developed the Toxic Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP) to set threshold levels for the toxicity of 39 different chemicals, including chromium and arsenic. If the measured leaching from a waste product exceeds these limits it is considered a toxic waste and regulated accordingly. Arsenic-treated wood such as CCA does not have to pass this test. "Why not?" you ask. It turns out that this obviously questionable product enjoys a special exemption from the TCLP rule in 40 C.F.R. 261.4(b)(9). This is likely the result of strong lobbying pressure from the manufactures of these products.9 Because the point is legally moot, actual data is hard to come by, but results of one test obtained by EBN show that CCA-treated wood actually fails the test for arsenic and only barely passes it for chromium.10

There is evidence of leaching from PT CCA structures into the surrounding environment, but the disposal of this product is by far the more serious environmental problem. It should never, ever be burned! The chemical companies don't tell us is that these compounds, and particularly the arsenic, are released when the wood is burned. Some of these compounds are released directly into the air where the can be inhaled and some remain in the ash where they are highly leachable.



I will keep you updated as I discover more, but it appears that few studies have been conducted to determine impacts on marine life. And a lack of regulation by the EPA is troublesome to be sure.

Removing it from the ocean is important, but I think there is another alarming situation..........Beach fires are very popular along our shores. Burning treatedwood releases the toxic chemicals and the ash remains toxic as well.

Hopefully, more information is made available for campers and others who enjoy toasting marshmallows on a fire. While it is theoretically illegal to collect wood for fires on some beaches (State Parks for example),  firewood is often gathered. Sadly, milled lumber is fast becoming one of the major components of wood along our shorelines as natural sources decline due to clearing of marine riparian woodlands. Ironically, this toxic woody debris may serve some of the same valuable functions as the branches, stumps, and tree trunks once so prevalent on backshores. Will we see the day when arsenic soaked wood is protected because it is helping to protect our shores from erosion? I know from experience that a lot of creosote soaked wood remains in place along our beaches. It continues to leach toxins, but the large size of this debris makes it nearly impossible to eliminate...........A lot to think about and much work to be done!

Thanks to all who helped me with the immediate concern. I won't be asking kids to pick up any form of treated wood!

FRED RETURNS TO THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST. JUST IN TIME!

Fred and Friend (Laysan Albatross from Kilauea on Kauai)

returned to the Pacific Northwest this week.

Fred has been with students in Ohio and will now

help many people focus on marine debris in the Pacific Northwest, first

with kids from Susan Barrett's North Kitsap High School Transitions class

and

students at many grade levels at Bush School in Seattle.

Contents of his Teaching Kit were enriched

by Debbie Charna's students. The Pacific Northwest additions

will include results of beach cleanups, study of all forms of marine

debris, including toxins from treated lumber, and the responses

NK and Bush kids add as they consider earlier SOAR projects.

THANK YOU OHIO

for all you have done to enhance learning

here in the Pacific Northwest. It is late winter 

and our beaches are now receiving their annual high doses of marine debris

from inland waters. At the same time, erosion of many beaches is accelerating

due to poor protection of coastal riparian habitat

and a diminishing amount of large woody debris (natural wood that acts to buffer

the shoreline from wind driven waves). 

We also hear from our friends at NOAA

that marine debris from the Japanese tsunami will arrive on our shores

at any time. 

We will keep everyone posted as results of our beach cleanups and research

continue to expand.   

WISDOM

John Klavitter, USFWS, holding an albatross, ready for banding.

I took this photo on Midway in 2009 when I first learned about Wisdom.

Since that time, I've worked on a book about her while teaching kids around

the world about albatross issues, especially dealing with plastic that kills so many of them.

I learned yesterday, that someone else has gotten a book out about Wisdom and so,

I have to rethink what I will do with all the information so many have provided and

that I've written about Wisdom, albatrosses, and ocean problems.

I'm posting this image of John to thank him for his many kindnesses as I've

worked on Project SOAR with kids.......He has helped in so many ways

and is the one person I am calling WISDOM'S KEEPER..........

One who cares so deeply and never asks for much in return, like

the kids who originally inspired what I do.........The kids of CSG and

other schools around the planet who are trying to find ways of

helping the ocean.

Maybe I will write a book called Wisdom Keepers. For John.

And, by all means, check out the new book,

Wisdom, The Midway Albatross.

I hope it is a good book and helps Wisdom in ways needed by all ocean creatures.

Mana'o Akamai

Palau Sea Turtle Story Shell

honu ea photographed at Marrowstone Point. 2012.

My cousin Tom Rice introduced me to the science of the oceans when I was quite young. I collected sea shells for his Of Sea and Shore Museum. At the time of its opening, it was the largest collection in the United States and is still open in Port Gamble, Washington.

Tom recently moved to Thailand and scaled back the museum's displays. I inherited some treasures when he moved, including this Honu Ea or Hawksbill Turtle "shell"........The carapace of this beautiful sea turtle is etched with a story from Palau...........Tom brought it home from one of his many travels around the world and has since forgotten the legend or folk tale being told in the many etchings on each of the "Moons" or shields on the turtle back.

Each of these pieces of the back fit together like a puzzle and over the years, they have slipped apart a bit so that it is difficult to transport and share in my workshops about marine debris.

But as a piece falls out of the back, I can carefully hand it to a child so they can hold it to light and see the beauty of the transparent shell............No wonder people killed these creatures for the shell, turning them into sunglass frames, jewelry, and other fashion pieces..........

Ironically, the shell is a kind of pre-plastic and today, the turtles, like so many sea creatures, suffer from entanglement in nylon netting, fishing line, and other debris. Saved from harvest, they now must swim seas filling fast with plastics created to replace the more natural shell and other materials of earlier times.

I wonder if people of Palau would want this turtle returned.

If you know anything about picture stories etched into these shells, do let me know. I have also put out a question to list serves and so, will keep posting any information. In the meantime, I will bring this to all my presentations in coming years...........Kids are so inspired and enchanted on holding and touching and imagining this sea turtle's past. They seem more eager to help the turtles and the ocean on experiencing the gift from Palau!