Converting 1979 Wood Preservation Problems into Opportunities for 1999
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1980-02
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Abstract
The development of a body of knowledge we now call wood science and technology was already underway in the time of Christ. Recognized were the need for construction practices that keep wood dry, for allotting wood its proper place in structures, and for remedies against its infirmities. Then progress stood still. Not until the 17th and 18th centuries, when deteriorating piling in its dikes threatened the inundation of Holland, and dry rot in its men-of-war threatened the survival of England, were concerted efforts made to develop those remedies. From the wood preservation renaissance of the 19th century emerged the wood-treating industry of today. Although great strides have been made in understanding wood, problems both old and new continue to plague its use. Exposure of untreated wood as seasoning checks deepen beyond the treated shell of timbers in service, inadequate preservative treatment of heartwood, inexcusable construction practices that trap water within untreated wood, archaic methods for inspecting timbers in service and estimating their residual strength, energy conservation practices that threaten the safety of thousands of homes, and general lack of knowledge about wood by those who design, construct, specify, or use wood present unlimited opportunities for improving its performance. Research will continue to reveal new information about wood, but ortiy education of users can dispel the pervasive general ignorance that discredits it and places an incalculable drain on our forests. The Forest Products Research Society and the Society of Wood Science and Technology should be part of a massive educational program for the wise use of this nation's only renewable resource. If by 1999 architects and engineers, home builders and homeowners, high school teachers and students, Campfire Girls, Boy Scouts, and Girl Scouts know a few basic facts about wood, we will have converted today's problems into opportunities for the new century.
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Forest Products journal, Vol. 30, No.2