What types of preservatives are used to treat wood?
A. There are three broad classes of wood preservatives used in the pressure-treating process. Wood treated with water-borne preservatives is used in a wide variety of products and applications, indoors and outdoors, for residential, commercial, and industrial structures. Chromated Copper Arsenate (CCA), Ammoniacal Copper Quat (ACQ), and Ammoniacal Copper Zinc Arsenate (ACZA) are some of the most common water-borne preservatives. Wood products that are pressure treated with water-borne preservatives are used in the construction of residential decking and walkways, fences, gazebos, boat docks, playground equipment, as well as for highway noise barriers, sign posts, utility poles, and retaining walls. Wood pressure treated with creosote is primarily used for timbers in railroad ties, highway bridges and guardrail posts, as well as for marine structures-bulkheads, docks, and seawalls. Pentachlorophenol is the most widely utilized of the oil-borne preservatives. Utility poles and crossarms
