Wood packaging comes in a variety of forms, including crates, dunnage, spools, pallets and packing blocks. The National Wooden Pallet and Container Association said there are about 1.2 billion wood pallets in circulation within the United States, with 93 percent of all goods moving on those pallets.
USDA is particularly concerned that if left unregulated these materials may propagate the spread of non-native wood-eating pests, such as the emerald ash borer and Asian long-horned beetle. These pests are believed to have entered the United States from Asia on untreated wood packaging materials (WPM).
'The variety of woods and lumber qualities used in the construction of WPM make it susceptible to infestation by a wide range of wood pests and diseases,' USDA said in a Federal Register notice on Thursday. 'Additionally, lumber used in WPM construction may be fresh cut and may not have undergone sufficient processing or treatment to kill pests.'
There are also compliance problems associated with the patchwork of domestic quarantine requirements to govern the movement of wood packaging for different pests. 'As a result, we are exploring the development of uniform measures to govern interstate movement of all WPM in order to provide greater east of comprehension and compliance,' USDA said.
USDA is considering the feasibility of implementing International Plant Protection Convention treatment standards as requirements for the domestic movement of wood packaging. The IPPC, which requires wood packaging to be either fumigated or heat treated, and marked with an approved symbol, is already in use for wood packaging used to ship goods to the major international markets.
The department said another option for strengthening domestic wood packaging handling regulations may be the practice of pallet pooling.
'Pooled pallet companies retain ownership of individual pallets through a pallet's lifecycle through rigorous inventory tracking and management, leasing these pallets to companies engaged in interstate commodity movement,' USDA said. 'The pooled pallets are constructed from a higher grade of wood than traditional pallets, with strict specifications pertaining to such factors as species of tree and source location.'
In addition, USDA is interested in suitable alternative treatments to methyl bromide fumigation, which has been linked to ozone depletion. 'We are intent on minimizing the use of methyl bromide in order to protect the stratospheric ozone layer, and we are seeking options that will accomplish this objective,' the department said.
USDA said it would accept public comments through Oct. 26.
