In the early 1980's your Cooperative initiated annual pole inspections in order to improve service reliability to our membership.  At that time almost 8% of the poles inspected were being scheduled for replacement.  Past records had indicated we could anticipate a life expectancy of approximately 30 years from each new pole installed, but in the mid-eighties we began to discover poles less than ten years old which needed replacement.  Most of those rejected poles were the victims of ground rot, but a surprising number of them had been severely damaged by woodpeckers.

When woodpeckers attack a pole treated with penta or creosote, the resultant hole allows moisture and insects access to the untreated heartwood of the pole, which results in fairly rapid deterioration.

Another factor that came to light as a result of the pole inspections, was that approximately 60% of the bad poles were only rotten on one side of the pole at ground level, or slightly below ground level.  That situation alerted us to the fact that penta and creosote treatments were migrating within the poles before they were ever set in the ground.  When we checked with wood treatment specialist on this issue, they agreed with our conclusion and advised us that to avoid the problem in the future, we would have to regularly rotate any poles that were to remain in the pole yard for more than just a few months.

Since we normally keep enough poles on hand to cope with damaging ice or summer storms, we felt that pole rotation was just not a practical solution for us and we began looking for an alternative solution to our dilemma. 

In the summer of 1985, we began to purchase poles which were treated with chromated copper arsenate, which is commonly referred to as "CCA".  This is a chemical treatment which forms a chemical bond with the wood fiber and therefore does not tend to migrate within the pole, and from the pole, as is the case with penta, creosote and other oil based treatments such as copper naphthenate.

To date, SouthEastern has not had to replace a single CCA treated pole due to ground rot or insect infestation.  However, there has been considerable debate recently over the safety of CCA treated wood products.  Most of that debate has centered around CCA deck lumber and one large building chain's failure to advise customers about the possible risk, primarily the inhalation of lumber dust, associated with sawing CCA lumber.

On February 12, 2002, chemical manufacturers and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) agreed to a two-year phase-out of the CCA wood preservative for residential use such as decks, fences and playgrounds.  This action does not affect the production or use of wood used for power poles and other commercial applications.
 

Our guidelines for handling CCA treated poles are the same as for penta, creosote and copper naphthenate products:

• Never burn treated wood.
• Wear a dust mask & safety goggles when cutting wood
• Wear gloves when handling treated wood
• Don't use treated wood any place it might come into contact with animal or human food products, or drinking water
• Always obtain a Material Data Safety Sheet before working with any treated wood products.

The Material Data Safety Sheets go into much more detail on the proper handling of treated lumber and SouthEastern members may obtain them by contacting Don Allen at 1-800-833-2611-Extension 160.