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Copper based wood preservatives are among the most important wood preservatives for heavy-duty applications. Wood treated with copper-based preservatives performs excellently if applied according to preservative specifications. If used improperly, premature failures can appear. In order to elucidate the properties of copper treated wood in use, utility poles and posts treated with copper-based preservatives were investigated. Poles were cut into smaller specimens, and copper and chromium penetration, retention, mechanical properties, extractive content, short-term water uptake and fungicidal properties were then determined. The results clearly showed that wood retains its properties if treated with sufficient amounts of copper-based wood preservatives. Insufficient amounts of preservatives applied result in premature failures of wood commodities. Regardless of the type of wood preservative used, the central part of spruce wood poles and piles is the weakest point, where the majority of the failures occurs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copper-based compounds are some of the most important biocides for the protection of wood in heavy duty applications. In the past, copper was combined with chromium compounds to reduce copper leaching, but a recent generation of copper-based preservatives uses ethanolamine as a fixative. To elucidate the leaching of copper biocides from wood, Norway spruce (Picea abies) wood was treated with a commercial copper-ethanolamine solution with two different copper concentrations (cCu = 0.125% and 0.25%). The aim of this research was to compare the laboratory leaching standards (ENV 1250-2, CEN/TS 15119-1, and CEN/TS 15119-2) with the field leaching studies in ground and above ground. The results indicated that the first leaching peak appears in the initial phases of leaching, both in laboratory and field studies. The degree of copper leaching is also affected by the method of treatment; copperethanolamine preservative solutions, when applied with superficial treatments, are more prone to leaching than is vacuum-pressure treated wood. On average, between 25% and 36% of copper was leached from the impregnated wood after 42 months of exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]