My Abstract Outline - Ready for editing!

This is my most recent abstract outline, I am welcoming all kinds of feedback!


Throughout British Columbia, about 15 different insect species cause the death and growth loss of about 5,886,999 cubic meters of timber per year, and the British Columbia Ministry of Forests assumes that 50% of mature pine will be killed. As a direct result, bug kill products are becoming increasingly more popular. The “shelf life” of bug killed pine is roughly 15 years; this does not leave a lot of time to utilize the wood to its full potential. This applied research report looks at bug kill lumber in the construction industry, in terms of design and construction, specifically in Kamloops, in hopes of bringing some of this potential into the light. Before all bug kill was used for was firewood, but now it is seen in furniture, flooring, roofing, cabinetry and all sorts of construction. The goal of the report is to see if it is feasible to use bug killed lumber in conventional stick frame construction, in terms of structure and health risk to the occupants. To do this, I will compare bug killed lumber with leading lumber in the Kamloops region. To start several local construction supply businesses will be contacted for the prices of various lumbers, and these prices will then be compared to the harvesting and transporting prices of the bug kill. After this is done the bug kill lumber and healthy lumber will be compared structurally. The main concern people have is if the bug killed lumber is defective structurally, due to the blue stain because blue stain is commonly misidentified as a form of mold or rot. The truth of the matter is; there is no difference structurally between healthy pine and blue stained pine. The fungi that are associated with the mountain pine beetle are classified as blue stain fungi, which are micro fungi that have the darkly colored pigmented hyphae responsible for the blue or grey stain in most of the pine. These fungi live off the easily obtained nutrients in the tree, mostly the simple sugars, starches, and the triglicerides found in the medullary ray and parenchyma cells. The blue stain fungi do not possess the extra cellular enzymes capable of degrading the cell wall structure of the tree. What the blue stain does do to the wood, besides aesthetics, is make the wood more permeable. This can be bad if the wood is subjected to a moist climate, rot will appear faster in blue stained wood than in healthy lumber. But, in Kamloops the climate is very dry, so this will not be an issue. In terms of health concerns for the occupants the blue staining fungi do not generally survive long in dried wood in comparison with some of the wood-decaying species of fungi. Once the fungi have consumed all the nutrients available, which is generally far before harvesting, the fungi die. The fungi do not readily become airborne and therefore cannot affect indoor air quality; as a result, blue stain fungi have not been associated with any human health problems to date. There are a number of “treatments” for the bug killed lumber to ensure the beetle larvae and blue stain fungi hyphae are killed. One of these “treatments” is kiln drying. The kiln drying procedure involves basically a huge fire heated furnace that the log is immersed into. The heat dries out the log killing all the blue stain hyphae and beetle larvae completely. In conclusion, using bug killed lumber in construction is an excellent way of dealing with the mountain pine beetle epidemic. There is no structural difference between healthy pine and bug killed pine and there are no health concerns attached to using the bug killed wood. Be cautious of the location and use the appropriate precautions to ensure the bug killed lumber is not exposed to high amounts of moisture, but this is a rule that should be applied to all types of wood, not just bug kill. The Kamloops region is bursting with new residential construction, and is in a prime location to use as much bug kill as possible. If Kamloops embraces bug kill in construction, it will act as inspiration for surrounding communities, and we will be well on our way to bringing the bug killed lumber’s full potential into the light for the whole province to view.