Environmental Project, 940 – Survey of dioxin emission from PCP-treated wood

Survey of Dioxin Emission from PCP-treated Wood

4 Selection of sampling material

4.1 Construction wood from the period 1960 - 1972
4.2 Imported wood from disposable pallet boards
- 4.2.1 Selection of sampling material
- 4.2.2 The selected samples

4.1 Construction wood from the period 1960 - 1972

There have been selected samples of construction wood from five different houses. All houses are built in the period 1960 - 1972 and they still contain -at least partly - the original woodwork. Table 4.1 shows information about the selected samples of construction wood.

A precondition for the selection of the samples has been that the history of the houses and the treatment of the woodwork were well known.

Table 4.1: Data of selected samples of construction wood.

Sample number	Origin of wood	Year of construction	Type of wood preservative(s)	Number of preservations during 1960 - 1974 (1980)	Weight /thickness of the selected sample 1)
1	From shutter	1960	Primer and wood preservation of the "Gori" brand, coloured (brown)	Assumed priming and 2 times preservation in the period of 1960 - 1968 and 1 preservation around 1970. 2)	4 g/2cm
2	From overhang	1972	Primer of the "Gori" brand, non-coloured	Priming in 1972. Next treatment in 1976/77, which likely was not a PCP - treatment.	2 g/2 cm
3	From overhang	1968	Primer and wood preservation of the "Pinotex" brand, coloured (brown)	Assumed priming and preservation in 1968. Extra preservation in the beginning of the 1970'ties. Perhaps also late in the 1970'ties. 3)	2 g/2 cm
4	From overhang	1970	Primer and wood preservation (coloured) of either the "Pinotex" or the "Solignum" brand	Priming and preservation in 1970. Painted again around 1976 with emulsion paint	10 g/2 cm
5	From overhang	1972	Primer and wood preservation of the "Pinotex" brand, coloured (brown)	Assumed priming and preservation in 1972. Extra preservation around 1975. Later painted with emulsion paint.	4 g/2 cm

1) Figures are approximate.

2) The present owner took over the house in 1968. The woodwork was well maintained. After around 1970 no more PCP preservations were carried out.

3) The present owner took over the house with well maintained woodwork in 1970.

4) The present owner took over the house with well maintained woodwork in 1974.

4.2 Imported wood from disposable pallet boards

4.2.1 Selection of sampling material

Anti-sap-stain control with PCP leaves no visible signs on the pallet boards, and it is therefore not possible to visibly check if the disposable pallet boards have been PCP-treated. The selection of sampling material has instead focused on where the pallet boards came from or more precisely where the goods transported on the pallets came from. It was therefore chosen to select samples from goods that were imported directly from Spain, Portugal and France - countries that are reported to still import PCP for the use of for example anti-sap-stain control.

The samples have been taken from COOP Denmark's central storehouse for dry goods, which distribute dry goods to all COOP supermarkets in Denmark. The pallets, chosen for sampling, have according to COOP's entry dock been imported directly to COOP Denmark's central storehouse for dry goods from producers in Spain, France and Portugal [Larsen, 2003].

Two other major supermarket chains have been contacted, but it is not possible for these chains to locate disposable pallet boards that origin Spain, Portugal and France. It is quite normal that goods are re-placed on other pallet boards once or several times during the transport from Southern Europe to Denmark, and it can therefore be difficult to trace which goods that are received on disposable pallet boards from the three countries.

4.2.2 The selected samples

Table 4.2 shows the 10 selected samples and information about the type of goods they have been used for and the country from which the goods have been imported.

Table 4.2: Selected pallet board samples.

Sample number	Date of selection	Type of goods	Country
1	14.10. 2003	Wine	Spain
2	14.10.2003	Port wine	Portugal
3	14.10. 2003	Champagne	France
4	14.10.2003	Wine	Spain
5	10.11.2003	Langostillos claw in pickle	Spain
6	10.11.2003	Green olives a la Provence	France
7	10.11.2003	Green olives	Spain
8	30.11.2003	Olives	Spain
9	30.11.2003	Wine	France
10	30.11.2003	Port Wine	Portugal

Table 4.2 shows that the samples cover all three European countries still expected to be using Na-PCP. Because of the limited number of samples it is not possible to make a reliable evaluation of the extent of the use of PCP in disposable pallet boards from each of the three countries. It can, however, give an indication of whether PCP can be found in imported disposable pallet boards.

The sampling material was as a first step analysed for PCP in the wood. Based on the results of the PCP-screening the dioxin analysis was made on the sample with the highest measured concentration of PCP. The method for analyzing is further described in Appendix A. Each sample had a weight of approximately 10 grams.