Effective Potential of Herbal Preservatives to Reduce Hazardous Impact on Biodiversity by Wood Chemical Preservatives and Fixatives

Wood is being a biological asset for timber purpose, liable to degrade easily than other material products. For its protection and longevity, chemical preservative industries are using chemicals and fixatives for their treatment under pressure. Mostly chemical used in wood preservative industries are heavy metals (Chromium) and have harmful impacts. AS chromate-production workers are exposed to a variety of chromium compounds, including hexavalent (VI) and trivalent (III) compounds. According to US ATSDR 2000 report, about 52% of all chromium compounds used in the U.S. chemical industries was used in the production of wood preservatives; the rest were used about 7-13% in pigments, tanning metals, leather finishing, etc. Environmental exposure from chromium (VI) compounds is difficult to quantify. The chromium (VI) compounds in the environment may be reduced to chromium (III) compounds, but hexavalent forms can persist under some conditions. People who live near industrial facilities that use chromium (VI) compounds have the greatest potential for exposure as it leaches out with prolong use and can become carcinogenic. Not only humans but chemicals from industrial effluents are affecting aquatic biodiversity too. On this serious note, researchers and wood technologists are trying to use herbal extracts in place of chemical preservatives. In this experiment extract of Acorus calamus (monocot-marshy plant) has been tried as biopreservative which could fix chromium in wood samples substantially. A difference in chromium (preservative fixative) retention was observed with different concentration of application of Acorus calamus extract on the studied wood samples.