A January 2004 change in the regulation of wood preservatives used in the U.S.has
increased the use of newer wood preservatives, such as alkaline copper quaternary (ACQ)
and copper azole (CuAz). These preservatives contain high amounts of cupric ions, which
may be reduced to copper metal at the expense of less noble steel and galvanized fasteners in
the wood. Preliminary testing using extreme accelerating conditions suggested newer
preservatives are more corrosive than the previously used chromated copper arsenate (CCA),
although it is unclear how corrosion rates measured in these extreme conditions relate to
milder in-service conditions. This paper presents preliminary results of a 1 year solid wood
exposure test. The results are compared to electrochemical data collected in wood extracts
obtained in a previous study. Additionally, the results of a small exploration on the effect of
tannins on the corrosion of metals in wood extracts are presented.
Keywords: wood, wood extractives, tannins, fastener, polarization resistance, steel, galvanized
steel, alkaline copper quaternary (ACQ), chromated copper arsenate (CCA), pH