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Would you like to add information to this article? Interested in writing or submitting an article? Have a question about this article? Hazards of Pressure Treated Wood 
From Professor Gene Wengert, forum technical advisor:
Special concerns:
Building hints:
From contributor W: Why do you not allow any space between the boards when decking? From Professor Gene Wengert, forum technical advisor: The wood is normally quite wet when installed and it will shrink 1/4" or more as it dries in place. So, if you leave a 1/4" space initially, you will potentially have a 1/2 gap when the wood dries. From contributor R: Have there been any long term studies/case histories of proven illness or deaths resulting from repeated exposure to pt lumber? Any class action lawsuits from groups of deck installers, factory workers, daycare centers, etc.? From Professor Gene Wengert, forum technical advisor: There are a half dozen stories about someone getting sick and relating that illness to a new CCA deck that was installed at their home at the same time. The problem is that their illness would require exposure to a very high level of arsenic or chromium. So these stories all include that statement that the wood was exceptionally heavy and it oozed sap for a long time, and so on. Naturally, these people are suing for damages and so on. There are also some other stories that are circulated but without any information that can be used to verify the validity. Here are three. In 1983 two workers building picnic tables for the forestry service found out what working with this wood can do. One lost seven pints of blood and the other had many symptoms, which left them unable to work for many months. A man building a CCA dock became partially paralyzed after working with the wood. He recovered, but not fully and received a large settlement from the company involved. A woman claims to have lost two fingers on her hand from CCA wood splinters. Naturally, what we really have to do is find someone who also lost two fingers to splinters that was not exposed to CCA wood to prove that it was indeed CCA that caused the problem, if indeed this story is actually true. It is very hard to prove "cause and effect" in these cases, but jury emotions can really be important instead of relying on the facts. In one case they talk about their deck being made of CCA treated jack spruce... That is a new species to me and I did not find that on the Internet either. Many of these reports have other errors, but they all seem to have the idea that it is a severe illness with many symptoms and tremendous losses. None had mild problems. We each have to be the judge of what is truth in these cases.
From Professor Gene Wengert, forum technical advisor: I should add that several cases involve breathing fumes when burning the wood and a large number involve inhaling and skin contact with sawdust and sanding dust in a closed room for many days. Have you reviewed the related Knowledge Base areas below? 
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