USE of BORATE-TREATED WOOD as PART of an IPM APPROACH for DURABLE and SUSTAINABLE CONSTRUCTION

Abstract:
Wood is a common structural material, used for building most homes and some commercial buildings in North America. This widespread use is due to wood’s desirable performance properties, abundance and cost effectiveness, ease of use, and favorable environmental attributes. However, wood can be degraded by various wood-destroying organisms (WDO) such as termites and decay. Since structural systems are often hidden from view and difficult to reach once put into service, infection of these systems by WDO can result in catastrophic damage, expensive repair, and the on-going use of chemical and physical methods to mitigate the problem. As a means of addressing the WDO problem, some builders and architects are specifying alternative materials such as steel and concrete where they would have otherwise used wood. These alternatives can increase the cost of construction and reduce the environmental performance of the building. In many parts of the world, borate industrially pretreated wood has been used successfully for decades to build structures that are protected against WDO. Borates have strong environmental and safety profiles, and industrial pretreatment provides for deep penetration of borates into the wood products, providing long-term durability of the structure to WDO. This paper discusses the use of borate-treated wood as part of an integrated pest management (IPM) strategy for new buildings. Issues examined are: cost comparisons and life-cycle analyses of wood, steel, and concrete building systems; distribution and economic consequences of wood-destroying organisms; an assessment of the current typical approaches of protecting buildings from wood-destroying organisms; incorporating pest management into the design and construction of buildings; the application and performance of borate-treated lumber, plywood, and OSB; approaches for protecting buildings from WDO in various parts of the world; and the environmental and safety aspects of borate wood preservatives