Research Article Leaching of Chromium, Copper, and Arsenic from CCA-Treated Utility Poles Cynthia A. Coles, 1 Joseph A. Arisi, 2 Marion Organ, 3 and Geoff I. Veinott 4 1 Department of Civil Engineering, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, NL, Canada A1B 3X5 2 Edmonton, Alberta, Canada 3 Nalcor Energy, Lower Churchill Project, St. John’s, NL, Canada A1B 0C9 4 Science Branch, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, St. John’s, NL, Canada A1C 5X1 Correspondence should be addressed to Cynthia A. Coles; ccoles@mun.ca Received 29 August 2014; Revised 25 November 2014; Accepted 26 November 2014; Published 18 December 2014 Academic Editor: Teodoro M. Miano Copyright © 2014 Cynthia A. Coles et al. is is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Concentrations of Cu, Cr, and As in soils surrounding 26 Douglas Fir Chromated Copper Arsenate (CCA) treated utility poles and in rainwater runoff from a new CCA treated utility pole segment (log) suspended outside in a cylinder were studied. e age of the utility poles, distances from the poles, rainfall amounts, and characteristics of soil samples including cation exchange capacity (CEC), pH, and total organic carbon (TOC) were considered. Heavier rainfall, damp conditions, and more weathered poles contributed to the greatest leaching of Cu, Cr, and As. e maximum measured soil concentrations of Cu, Cr, and As were 37.5, 65.5, and 38.9 mmol/kg and maximum Cu, Cr, and As concentrations in rainwater run-off were 14, 77.7 and 55.8 mol/L. Metal concentrations decreased with distance from the poles and, except at one utility pole location, Cu was the most leached of the three elements. e As appeared to have greater mobility in the soil than the Cr. Along the transmission line nearest the coast and from which the greatest amount of samples was collected, soil CEC and TOC values were the highest and the CEC and TOC were directly and strongly correlated. 1. Introduction Chromated Copper Arsenate (CCA) has been employed extensively since the 1930s as a wood preservative [1–3] to protect structures such as utility poles, fence posts, backyard decks, playground equipment, and marine structures from fungal and bacterial attack. However, recognition of the hazards of CCA has led to some reduction in its use as, for example, its banning in the residential areas in the U.S. [4, 5]. ere is also the problem of retiring CCA-treated structures that are currently in use [6]. CCA-treated wood can have a service life of up to 50 years and its use in post-consumer products (such as landscape mulch), determined to be 0.9% in the UK in 2001, could reach 12.3% in the UK in 2061 [4, 7]. In South Africa, CCA is still commonly used and local food vendors in Cape Town are even cooking food over fires fueled with CCA-treated wood [1]. Slightly different formulations of CCA (CCA-A, CCA- B, and CCA-C) exist but CCA-C containing 18.5% CuO (copper oxide), 47.5% CrO 3 (chromium oxide or anhydrous chromic acid), and 34% As 2 O 5 (arsenic pentoxide) is the most common [8–10]. e role of the Cu and As is to deter fungi and insects, respectively, and the Cr is intended to act as a fixative [11, 12]. During CCA application, Cr (VI) is reduced to Cr (III) and the final products may include Cr (III) arsenate- (CrAsO 4 -) lignin complexes, chromate- (CrO 4 2− -) lignin and cellulose complexes, Cu (II-) wood carboxylate complexes, and Cr (III) hydroxide [10, 13, 14]. Local climate, leaching media, wood properties, and wood treatment techniques affect leaching of CCA from treated wood [14, and references therein] oſten as Cu or Cr arsenates and inorganic or organometallic complexes [11]. Leaching of Cu, Cr, and As may also be greater from wood that has been weathered [7]. Although CCA wood waste has been disposed of in approved landfills, preference is mov- ing towards management options which include complete removal of CCA and its products from wood waste before Hindawi Publishing Corporation Applied and Environmental Soil Science Volume 2014, Article ID 167971, 11 pages http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2014/167971