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Safe, economical alternatives to manufactured woods like plywood, particleboard and pressure-treated wood DO exist. And they won't put your kids at risk.

The French have a word, sain, which literally means sane, but also healthy and "at-home" in its chosen place. Not everyone can design their own eco-home from the ground up, but we can take steps now, when renovating our houses or apartments, to make our homes more sane. The following alternatives to potentially toxic or polluting building materials – plywood, particleboard and pressure-treated wood – will allow for "greening" your living space at your own pace.

Plywood & Particleboard

While new building materials are generally lighter and more resource efficient, relying less on solid timber than in the old days, the majority are manufactured with formaldehyde-based glues. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has classified formaldehyde as a probable human carcinogen. Moreover, it can offgas from the boards into the air, silently polluting your home’s air for years (the offgassing rate is especially intense in new materials, and in hot, humid weather). Long-term inhalation of formaldehyde vapors can cause fatigue, respiratory irritation, impaired lung function, and allergic skin reactions.

• Conventional plywood is made of thin veneers of wood that are bonded together with formaldehyde resins.
• The majority of hardwood plywood, used indoors for cabinetry and paneling, are composed of a core layer faced with higher quality woods using urea-formaldehyde (UF) glue.
• Softwood plywood is used for exterior and structural applications (walls, floors, roofs), and its adhesive consists of phenol formaldehyde (PF) resin. PF, a more expensive, water-resistant glue, offgasses at a relatively slower rate than UF glues. "So, we tend to use the worst products indoors, where they can do the most harm," says John Bower of the Healthy House Institute.
• Particleboard, used primarily indoors for furniture and cabinets, is made from wood chips and other plant fibers bonded with formaldehyde-based resins.

Fortunately, a new generation of products are being created with little or no formaldehyde, giving you the potential to replace plywood, particleboard, plastics and other synthetic materials in cabinets and furniture throughout your house.

• Choose certified-sustainable hardwood cabinets and furniture utilizing traditional joinery and stainless steel drawer bottoms, salvaged wood, UF-free fiberboard, or baked-enamel metal, which emit less chemical vapor into the air. Or, reject permanent cabinetry altogether, and use freestanding hardwood tables, shelves and hooks.
• Choose formaldehyde-free medium density fiberboard (MDF) in place of plywood for outdoor areas. Fiberboard can be made from recycled wood, paper or plant fiber waste, which is compressed and molded into boards without adhesives.
• Look for an "exterior glue" stamp on regular plywood, which means it contains PF instead of UF glues.
• If particleboard can’t be avoided, finish with a low-toxicity sealant (latex paint won’t seal in vapors).

Pressure-Treated Wood

Most wood for use outdoors in decks, raised beds and playground equipment is treated with a combination of chromium, copper and highly toxic arsenic, or CCA, to preserve it from the elements, insects and fungi. CCA can migrate to the surface of the wood right after it’s applied, forming a white crystalline residue that can be absorbed through the skin. "And even though there is a warning label on CCA-treated wood [also called "salt-treated" or "pressure-treated" wood], to not use it where food will be prepared, this wood is sometimes used for picnic tables," according to John Bower.

A Spring 2001 report by the Environmental Working Group, Poisoned Playgrounds, revealed the hazards to children when playing on CCA-treated playground equipment, among other dangers. There is no environmentally safe way to dispose of CCA-preserved wood, either, as burning or landfilling releases arsenic into our air and soil. Upon the report’s release, EWG and the Healthy Building Network petitioned the Consumer Product Safety Commission requesting a ban on CCA-treated wood for playground equipment. Also, in May, the EPA announced it was pursuing a fast-track review of the cancer risk from arsenic-treated lumber, especially to children.

Editor's Note: The EPA has reached an agreement with the construction industry to phase out CCA-treated wood for consumer's use.

PlayNation Play Systems subsequently announced that it will stop using arsenic-treated lumber and switch to Alkaline Copper Quat (ACQ) treated wood instead. ACQ is an arsenic-free option, but some critics of ACQ charge that it can also leach out of the wood, and its copper content can be toxic to earthworms and aquatic life. Organic Gardening magazine, for one, "cannot recommend it for use in an organic garden or farm." But it is less toxic than, and is designed to last as long as, CCA-treated wood. As an industry leader and the first manufacturer to do so, other companies may soon follow PlayNation’s lead and make the switch to ACQ or other less-toxic alternatives without waiting for a government order.

Other Resources
Protecting Your Health from CCA-Treated Wood, from Beyond Pesticides

Green Building Resources:

Green Building Resource Guide by John Hermannsson (Taunton Press, 1997)
The New Natural House Book by David Pearson (Simon & Schuster, 1998)
The Healthy House by John Bower (Healthy House Institute, 2001 edition)
The Sustainable Building Sourcebook

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