Loss of Creosote from Douglas-Fir Marine Piles

Three Douglas-fir marine piles were sampled for creosote content soon after pressure treatment to a minimum retention of 20 pounds of creosote per cubic foot of wood in the outer 2-inch zone. Six-foot long, end-capped, butt and tip sections of each pile (6 sections), were sampled periodically during 8 years of immersion in cool (about 50?F) estuarine waters on the Oregon coast. Creosote content was virtually unchanged in two piles after 8 years of immersion, but diminished in the third pile from about 30 down to 23 pounds per cubic foot in the outer 1/2-inch zone and to 27 pounds per cubic foot in the second 1/2-inch zone. Butt and tip sections did not differ in their ability to retain creosote. There was no significant downward migration of creosote in the piles. Creosote content of samples taken after 8 years of immersion was unrelated to ring spacing (growth rate) of the wood, but varied inversely with its specific gravity (r2=0.92).

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