Kitchen Garden Forum

My original posting was to ask why it was now considered that railway sleepers/telegraph poles were not to be used for raised beds. My view on the likely hood of contacting skin cancer is that it is extremely remote if at all. Some of the advice coming from the authorities is bazaar. Do you really think that if it was a realistic danger to anyone touching creosoted material BT would be allowed to have their creosoted/tarred telegraph poles lining our streets?

The point that I thought that I was missing knowledge about was any possible danger from eating vegetables grown in soil that was in close proximity to creosoted wood.

If you care to look at telegraph poles especially in the summer they tend to bleed the tar/creosote mixture that they are impregnated with. When I worked in the industry this impregnation was carried out by the ’Ruping’ process that used air pressure to force the creosote into the air receptacles within the wood until 12 lb of creosote /cub ft was absorbed. A vacuum was then applied to withdraw the surplus aiming for a 4-5 lb/cub ft impregnation.

Unfortunately since this creosote coal tar mixture can bleed out and if in contact with the soil could be taken up by the plants in contact with it. Could this lead to a danger when eating these vegetables? It was this that I wished to have clarified.

Barney

Although I cannot give any scientific evidence, I would rather assume that it is harmful until proven otherwise, I am sure in this case there is no smoke without fire. As all the warnings on the containers advise it to be kept out ot watercourses and aquatic life, then surely a vegetable that grows by uptaking nutrients and moisture from the surrounding soil is at risk of taking up the chemical.

I guess the critical debate would be about the amount, but personally I would keep it away from my plot. Compo