Q: My husband recently built me a vegetable garden planter out of pressure treated lumber. A friend said that it emits poisonous chemicals. Is this true?

A: Lumber was formerly treated with chromated copper arsonate (CCA) and health concerns were raised by some. Most treated wood is now infused with alkaline copper quaternary (ACQ) and I have heard little concern about its health effects. One common lumber product is YellaWood, treated with a different chemical: Micronized Copper Azole (MCA).

I found a report on tests done to see if ACQ might be harmful. I’ll let you read it and draw your own conclusions.

See Human Health Risk Evaluation of ACQ-treated Wood and scroll down to the bottom to read my bolded emphasis.

Personally, after reading the report, I feel comfortable using ACQ  or MCA wood near vegetables.

raised bed using ACQ wood