Submit your Creosote claim details for a free, no obligation case review
Get Started:
Creosote treated wood is a type of pressure treated wood used in constructing residential and commercial structures. Because the creosote group of chemicals takes a long time to break down, creosote treated wood is highly resistant to insect damage and general decay for long periods of time. The dangers of creosote treated wood put both people and animals at risk for adverse health effects that are caused by inhalation and skin or eye contact with the dust or preservatives of creosote treated wood.
Creosote treated wood is not appropriate for use in a variety of environments and physical structures. Creosote treated wood should not be used in products that will come into frequent or prolonged contact with skin, such as outdoor furniture. Creosote treated wood should never be used on the interior of a residential home or on the interior of farmhouses. In some cases, creosote treated wood can be sealed with a urethane, epoxy, or shellac sealer in order to protect against the ill effects of creosote treated wood.
If a product or structure is anticipated to come into contact with livestock, drinking water, beehives, or food sources it should not contain creosote treated wood. Using creosote treated wood in these products is dangerous because the harmful chemicals in the wood can enter animal or vegetable food sources and drinking water causing primary damage and potential health problems during human consumption.
People who work in the wood preservative industry, people who build structures with creosote treated wood, and people who live in structures that house creosote treated wood are all at an increased risk for suffering deleterious health problems. Short term exposure to the dust or preservatives of creosote treated wood can cause severe irritation to the nose, throat, lungs, eyes, and skin. Long term exposure to creosote treated wood can cause inflammation of the nasal passages, lung disease, asthma, conjunctivitis, allergic dermatitis, and cancer of the skin and scrotum.
Exposure to harmful levels of dust or preservatives in creosote treated wood can include a number of symptoms. When creosote treated wood constituents are inhaled, victims can suffer from headache, dizziness, weakness, in-coordination, muscle aches, sinus problems, coughs, and fever. If skin or eye contact with creosote treated wood components occurs tearing, burning, pain, irritation, scaling, flaking and peeling might cause physical injury.
Creosote treated wood exposure is regulated by the EPA and OSHA. The EPA requires that creosote spills that exceed one pound be reported. OSHA limits the amount of exposure to creosote to 0.2 milligrams per cubic meter in a work place for an average 40 hour work week. OSHA also requires that when working with creosote treated wood, workers must be properly protected through the use of respirators, gloves, sun block, goggles/glasses, and adequate protective clothing. Sun block may be necessary because creosote is a photosensitizer. This means that creosote reacts with some wavelengths of natural and artificial light to produce phototoxic allergic reactions in the skin. It is important to take caution when dealing with creosote treated wood.
During the winter months, many people will start trying to heat up their homes. Wood burning stoves has become a more popular way of providing heat, but there are ways of preventing creosote buildup by burning a hot fire for 15 to 30 minutes. In addit...
Copyright © 2001 - 2009 Online Lawyer Source | Legal Marketing Site Designed by eJustice