I wanted to take this time to go further in depth on the use of heat treatment in pallets here in the U.S. and other U.N. member nations. This week I felt that conveying the truths about these processes would be important in clearing up a lot of confusion that
I have noticed surrounding this information.
Back Story
In 2002, the IPPC (International Plant Prevention Convention) convened to set new regulations on shipping containers and pallets made up of wood materials whether they are soft or hard wood. It was there, that they adopted ISPM 15 which was shortly there after, adopted in the U.S. under Rule 7 CFR 319.40. In the U.S., these regulations are governed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and they enforce that pallet makers and shippers must use 1 of 2 methods to treat the pallets they use for harmful pests as well as mark them with the type they use.
Heat Treatment
The process of heat treating the timber or logs that will end up being pallets is incredibly simple. The law states that the timber is to be placed into a heat chamber where it will be heated to a inner core temperature of 56 degrees celcius or 132.8 fahrenheit for a minimum of 30 minutes to ensure that the wood no longer contains pests. After the treatment is complete these lumber materials are marked with the acceptable markings set by regulation. The American Lumber Standard Committee (ALSC) is charged with monitoring and assuring quality pallets and giving their stamp of approval.
Stay tuned for tomorrow when we discuss part 2: Fumigation.
I worked in a local industry in the Peoria area in th 1970's. We made pallets and boxes for their parts for both u.s. and exporting of parts. There were no laws concerning heat treating of pallets or boxes whether they were exported or not at that time, and it only makes sense that they have regulations in place now. Very interesting. Thank you for your blog
ReplyDeleteRay, Thank you for your comments today! I am glad that you enjoyed reading. Yes it is somewhat part of the times these days to ave more regulations to govern these things which went literally unchecked for decades.
DeleteThis is very nice blog.Akalsahai Wood Products, incepted in 1981, are an ISO 9001:2008 certified company. They are a trusted manufacturer of wooden packaging products as per ISPM 15. They as a company have a methodical approach coupled with expertise and experience.Export palletization as per ISPM
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