LAUSR

In wood preservation industry, there is an increased use of particulate copper (i.e., micronized copper azole or MCA) preservative as a replacement for ionized copper preservative in pressure-treated lumber (PTL) [1]. The main components of MCA formulations include a micronized fraction of basic copper carbonate (CuCO3ˑCu(OH)2) that can be released during the handling and processing of copper-treated wood [2,3]. This has raised concerns over the potential exposure of workers to the wood dust that contains micronized/nanoscale copper particles. A recent toxicity study indicated that sanding of coppertreated lumber can release nanoscale copper particles that are potentially cytotoxic. [4] By using TEM/STEM, the agglomerated and isolated copper nanoparticles were identified in the wood dust generated by sawing and sanding copper-treated lumber in a laboratory testing system [5]. In this study, we evaluated morphological and chemical properties of different types of copper-containing particles.