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As the summer comes closer, many people will be making additions to their homes and some of these will be made using chemically treated wood products.
If you have a pet around the house, then you may need to take a couple of extra precautions when creating your deck or patio structures.
Most newer wood products that are chemically treated are now treated in such a manner that the primary problem chemicals, arsenic and copper, are not water soluble. Meaning they do not dissolve in water. and that the wood will not be technically dangerous in the event a pet chews on it.
However I said technically. See the below excerpt from Safe Use of Chemically Treated Wood, for a more specific details.
Chromium is the agent responsible for binding the arsenic and copper to the molecules that makes up woods. This process renders the toxic principals water-insoluble, and they cannot leach out of the wood. EPA and U.S. Department of Agriculture studies have shown that CCA-treated lumber is safely used in the presence of plants and animals.
Plants do not absorb the chemicals and animals that chew on the wood cannot digest out the arsenic. However, these chemicals can be released as toxic gases if the wood is burned.
There is also the possibility of skin and lung iritation from contact with surface residues or sawdust created during construction.
Please note the red highlighted area. This to me means that though the EPA is willing to let animals chew on it and consider it safe, that they do acknowledge the chance of problems.
In part this is due to the nature of the dust and other particulate matter (torn wood fibers at such small levels), that this material could put your pet at risk.
You could use this wood to build a dog house, but would not want to use it for the flooring, any place where your dog spends extended periods of contact or where food would come into contact with.
In general, if you are going to be outside cutting chemically treated wood products all weekend, wear a mask for yourself and leave your dog inside.
Trust me, I know my dogs would rather be outside too. However the last thing I want to do is fill their sensitive noses and lungs with a bunch of arsenic fumes, copper dust and who knows what else just because they need to be sniffing every little dust pile.
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