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Old utility poles can be reused in many ways too, but they must be outdoors, and not where it can have direct contact with people. Back in 2003 I called a local
by joeframbach 9y ago
Old utility poles can be reused in many ways too, but they must be outdoors, and not where it can have direct contact with people. Back in 2003 I called a local electric company if they could donate a few used poles to be used as beams for a bridge I was constructing for a local park. They we're happy to oblige. You can sometimes see these poles used in retaining walls and buried alongside hiking trails, used as water bars. I keep an eye out whenever I'm on a trail and am sometimes surprised to see an electric pole miles from a trailhead.
- sevensor 9y ago> and not where it can have direct contact with people. Could you expand on that? My elementary school had a playground structure made of old utility poles. Other than getting pitch on our clothes, they didn't seem particularly hazardous.
- joeframbach 9y agoI'm not an expert, but I can guess it depends on the pole and how it's been treated. The company I called gave me a list of disclosures and guidelines for re-use. Maybe the poles you see haven't been treated with such-and-such chemicals.
- jmspring 9y agoLike pressure treated lumber, the chemicals used to make the poles less susceptible to bugs/rot/etc can be hazardous to people. Until a few years ago, arsenic was one of the components used -- in commercially available pressure treated lumber. I suspect the same chemical cocktail has been used in poles. (edit -- add commercially available lumber clarification)
- ranger207 9y agoThey're treated with lots of preservatives. They're probably not all that dangerous in the short term (unless you eat some of the pitch), but it's annoying to deal with the potential long term safety. My scoutmaster worked for the power company, and I was going to ask him if we could have a couple of poles for my Eagle project, but after looking at what you had to do to reuse them I decided it was simply too much of a hassle.
- aaronarduino 9y agoProbably because the gasses that the poles produce when burning are prohibited by fire code.
- Faaak 9y agoIt may be the same thing as railway sleepers: they are treated with Creosote, which is not a very good chemical
- gowld 9y agoIt's a great chemical, but an awful snack.
- throwaway7645 9y agoCan confirm they use creosote....nasty nasty stuff.
- dsfyu404ed 9y agoYeah, doesn't smell good when you burn it either.
- throwaway7645 9y agoThey're treated with something called creosote which if it touches your clothes you must burn them. They'll last a good long time though.
- lolsal 9y agoCan you elaborate or provide a source for being required to burn your clothes after touching creosote?
- EADGBE 9y agoRead it on the internet once.
- throwaway7645 9y agoHaha, I was joking but the substance is tar-like and won't come out easily (sat on a creosote bridge once). We have some plants in my area that make it as well...I'm kinda scared what the long term impacts will be healthwise as you can sure smell that chemical-tar-oil compound.