RADIATION DISINFESTATION OF WOOD PRODUCTS

Infestation of wood by insects, fungi and nematodes has been, for deca des, a major challenge to trade in wood products around the world. The damage that can be inflicted on plants and animals through the introd uction of unwanted pests into importing regions ran reach hundreds of millions of dollars annually. Now that Methyl Bromide's days appear to be numbered, alternative methods of pest eradication in wood products for export must be sought at once, so as to avoid last minute scrambl ing by the industry when Methyl Bromide becomes finally and irreversib ly unavailable. Other existing technologies are either costly (e.g. ki ln drying) or still under development (e.g. RF vacuum drying and RF st eam sterilization).