Standards of the American Wood Protection Association
The American Wood Protection Association (AWPA) establishes standards for the industry. It is a consensus body consisting of wood treating companies, preservative manufacturers, scientists, academicians, and users of treated wood.
AWPA standards include Preservative Standards (P), which detail specification for all preservatives and fire retardants, and User Specifications (U), which contain treatment specifications for different commodities and have replaced the former Commodity Standards (C).
AWPA Recognition of Dricon FRT Wood
Dricon® FR chemicals and Dricon® FRT wood are acceptable under AWPA's P & U standards. Dricon FR chemical meets the formulation listed as "FR-1" in standard P17 for fire retardant formulations.
Dricon FR chemical and Dricon FRT wood are also recognized as an effective preservative system for above-ground, weather-protected applications. The fire retardant qualifies as an inorganic borate preservative (SBX), meeting the requirements for AWPA standard P5, Waterborne Preservatives (section 9). Dricon FRT wood can be used in categories UC1 and UC2.
AWPA Use Category System
The Use Category System (UCS) was developed as a format revision for the Commodity Standards and is not intended to make substantive technical changes to those standards. Detailed specifications for fire retardant treated wood are found in Appendix H of the UCS.
The UCS contains:
| • Definitions of the Use Categories |
| • Service conditions |
| • Treated wood use selection guide |
| • List of AWPA accepted preservative and fire retardant systems |
| • Guide to Use Categories |
| • Appendices relating to specific product types, e.g., sawn products, poles, FRT wood |
