Glass Test Chamber Model to Evaluate Pesticide Air Emissions from Treated Wood

Abstract

Emission of pesticides from treated wood can lead to contamination of the environment through several mechanisms. The main processes governing these emissions are lixiviation and evaporation. Emissions from treated wood into the surrounding air were modelled in this study with a protocol using a glass test chamber. The aims were to identify factors influencing such emissions into indoor air (wood drying period, temperature, loading rate: treated wood surface/room volume in m²·m^–3) in order to predict air concentrations of the pesticides. Emission of pentachlorophenol (PCP), a well known fungicide extensively used in the last two decades for wood preservation, was assessed. This first study was conducted on wood treated with an organic or an aqueous formulation containing respectively PCP or its sodium salt, PCPNa.