Wood Toxicity Table

The table below lists the toxic effects for a number of woods used by woodworkers. It first appeared in the June 1990 issue of American Woodturner and was derived from a number of reference sources, listed below the table. The information in the table is fairly self-explanatory but a few words are in order regarding the Reaction column. In general, the woods are listed as either irritants or sensitizers. Here is a description of each:

Irritant: The wood causes a reaction shortly after exposure. Typical symptoms are a rash, itchy skin, sneezing, and bronchial inflammation. The reaction tends to go away fairly quickly once you're in the clear.

Sensitizer: Produces a more severe reaction than an irritant with a longer latency period (hours to months) before symptoms appear. Most people are unaffected by sensitizers but once you develop an allergic reaction (i.e., you get sensitized to the allergen), the effects tend to get worse over time.


Type	Reaction	Site	Potency	Source	Incidence
Bald Cypress	Sensitizer	Respiratory	+	Dust	Rare
Balsam Fir	Sensitizer	Eyes, skin	+	Leaves, bark	Common
Beech	Sensitizer, nasopharyngeal cancer	Eyes, skin, respiratory	++	Leaves, bark; dust	Common
Birch	Sensitizer	Respiratory	++	Wood, dust	Common
Black Locust	Irritant, nausea	Eyes, skin	+++	Leaves, bark	Common
Blackwood	Sensitizer	Eyes, skin	++	Dust, wood	Common
Boxwood	Sensitizer	Eyes, skin	++	Dust, wood	Common
Cashew	Sensitizer	Eyes, skin	+	Dust, wood	Rare
Cocobolo	Irritant, sensitizer	Eyes, skin, respiratory	+++	Dust, wood	Common
Dahoma	Irritant	Eyes, skin	++	Dust, wood	Common
Ebony	Irritant, sensitizer	Eyes, skin	++	Dust, wood	Common
Elm	Irritant	Eyes, skin	+	Dust	Rare
Goncalo aves	Sensitizer	Eyes, skin	++	Dust, wood	Rare
Greenheart (Surinam)	Sensitizer	Eyes, skin	+++	Dust, wood	Common
Hemlock	Nasopharyngeal cancer	Respiratory	?	Dust	Unknown
Iroko	Irritant, sensitizer, pneumonia	Eyes, skin, respiratory	+++	Dust, wood	Common
Mahogany (Swietenia)	Sensitizer, pneumonia	Skin, respiratory	+	Dust	Unknown
Mansonia	Irritant, sensitizer, nausea	Eyes, skin	+++	Dust, wood	Common
Maple (C. Corticale mold)	Sensitizer, pneumonia	Respiratory	+++	Dust	Common
Mimosa	Nausea		?	Leaves, bark	Unknown
Myrtle	Sensitizer	Respiratory	++	Leaves, bark; dust	Common
Oak	Sensitizer, nasopharyngeal cancer	Eyes, skin	++, ?	Leaves, bark; dust	Rare, unknown
Obeche	Irritant, sensitizer	Eyes, skin, respiratory	+++	Dust, wood	Common
Oleander	Direct toxin, nausea	Cardiac	++++	Dust, wood, leaves, bark	Common
Olivewood	Irritant, sensitizer	Eyes, skin, respiratory	+++	Dust, wood	Common
Opepe	Sensitizer	Respiratory	+	Dust	Rare
Padauk	Sensitizer, nausea	Eyes, skin	+	Dust, wood	Rare
Pau ferro	Sensitizer	Eyes, skin	+	Dust, wood	Rare
Peroba rosa	Irritant, nausea	Respiratory	++	Dust, wood	Unknown
Purpleheart	Nausea		++	Dust, wood	Common
Quebracho	Irritant, nasopharyngeal cancer, nausea	Respiratory	++, ?	Dust, leaves, bark	Common, unknown
Redwood	Sensitizer, nasopharyngeal cancer, pneumonia	Skin, eyes, respiratory	++, ?	Dust	Rare, unknown
Rosewoods	Irritant, sensitizer	Skin, eyes, respiratory	++++	Dust, wood	Common
Satinwood	Irritant	Skin, eyes, respiratory	+++	Dust, wood	Common
Sassafras	Sensitizer, nasopharyngeal cancer, direct toxin, nausea	Respiratory	+, ?	Dust, wood, leaves, bark	Rare, unknown
Sequoia	Irritant	Respiratory	+	Dust	Rare
Snakewood	Irritant	Respiratory	++	Dust, wood	Rare
Spruce	Sensitizer	Respiratory	+	Dust, wood	Rare
Walnut, Black	Sensitizer	Skin, eyes	++	Dust	Common
Wenge	Sensitizer	Skin, eyes, respiratory	++	Dust, wood	Common
Western red cedar	Sensitizer	Respiratory	+++	Dust, leaves, bark	Common
Willow	Sensitizer, nausea	Respiratory	+	Dust, wood, leaves, bark	Unknown
Teak	Sensitizer, pneumonia	Skin, eyes, respiratory	++	Dust	Common
Yew	Irritant, direct toxin, nausea	Skin, eyes, cardiac	++,++++	Dust, wood	Common
Zebrawood	Sensitizer	Skin, eyes	++	Dust, wood	Rare

Reference:
1. Woods Toxic to Man, author unknownbr>2. Woods, B., Calnan, C.D., "Toxic Woods." Br. Journal of Dermatology 1976
3. ILO Encyclopedia of Occupational Health and Safety 1983
4. Lame, K., McAnn, M., AMA Handbook of Poisonous and Injurious Plants, AMA 1985
5. Poisondex, Micromedix Inc. 1990

Additional Wood Toxicity Data

In addition to the material presented in this table, here are a few other sources containing information about wood toxicity:

Toxic Woods, HSE’s Woodworking National Interest Group - Information on the reported adverse health effects associated with the more common woods used in commercial quantities within the UK, such as mahogany, oak, pine, teak etc.

Potentially Toxic Woods - Prepared by Roy Banner, a wood turner from Torrance, California who almost lost his life in 1989 to anaphylactic shock after turning pieces of exotic wood.

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