Abstract
An issue that has received much attention in the U.S. in recent years, especially in Florida, is the impact of CCA-treated wood on human health and the environment (Decker et al. 2002; Gordon et al. 2002) , including risks faced as a result of discarded CCA-treated wood in the solid waste stream (Townsend et al. 2001; Townsend et al. 2003). CCA-treated wood is preserved with copper, chromium and arsenic. All of the metals have toxic impacts at high exposures; it is arsenic however, which has raised the greatest concern (it is more hazardous at lower concentrations than the other CCA constituents). CCA-treated wood often becomes mixed with other wood from construction and demolition (C&D) debris (Tolaymat et al. 2000). Mixed C&D debris wood is either landfilled along with the rest of the C&D debris stream (e.g. concrete, gypsum drywall) or it is separated and processed for a variety of recycling markets.