Wood preservation facilities, inorganic boron (borate): chapter I-2

2. Physical and Chemical Properties

The chemical composition of the borates used for wood treatments was chosen to enable the appropriate impregnation of wood with an active ingredient that is effective in protecting wood against fungi, termites and other wood-boring insects.

The boron preservatives registered have disodium octaborate tetrahydrate as the active ingredient.

The physical and chemical properties of borate are outlined in Table 2. General physical and chemical properties can be obtained from manufacturers’ material safety data sheets (MSDS) and from label for pesticide products. Electronic copies of the pesticide label can be obtained from the Health Canada website.