Quantities of arsenic-treated wood in demolition debris generated by Hurricane Katrina

GEOC 44

Brajesh Dubey, bkdubey@ufl.edu, Department of Environmental Engineeirng Sciences, University of Florida, 217 Black Hall, PO Box 116450, Gainesville, FL 32611, Timothy Townsend, ttown@ufl.edu, Department of Environmental Engineering Sciences, University of Florida, PO Box 116450, Gainesville, FL 32611-6450, and Helena Solo-Gabriele, Dept. of Civil, Arch., & Environ. Engineering, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33124.
The disaster debris from Hurricane Katrina is one of the largest in terms of volume and economic loss in American history. One of the major components of the demolition debris is wood waste of which a significant proportion is treated with preservatives, including preservatives containing arsenic. As a result of the large scale destruction of treated wood structures such as electrical poles, fences, decks, and homes a considerable amount of treated wood and consequently arsenic will be disposed as disaster debris. In this study an effort was made to estimate the quantity of arsenic disposed through demolition debris generated in the Louisiana and Mississippi area through Hurricane Katrina. Of the 72 million cubic meters of disaster debris generated, roughly 36 million cubic meters were in the form of construction and demolition wood resulting in an estimated 1740 metric tons of arsenic disposed. Management of disaster debris should consider the relatively large quantities of arsenic associated with pressure-treated wood.
 

The Impact of Hurricane Katrina from an Environmental and Petrochemical Perspective
8:20 AM-11:40 AM, Monday, April 7, 2008 Morial Convention Center -- Rm. 213, Oral

Division of Geochemistry

The 235th ACS National Meeting, New Orleans, LA, April 6-10, 2008