Boron is one of the 109 elements that make up planet Earth. It is ubiquitous, being present in soil, water, plants, animals and ourselves – human beings.

In nature boron frequently combines with oxygen and / or other elements, then commonly termed “borates”.

Boron is mined in approximately fifteen countries around the world. Australia is not one of those fifteen countries, the continent generally being considered as boron deficient.

This Australian boron deficiency promulgates itself, perhaps most notably, in the fields of agriculture and horticulture. Since 1788 and “settlement” Australian agriculturalists, pastoralists and horticulturalists have been well aware of the need to include and supplement boron when formulating fertilizers for commercial cropping. In the majority of Australian soils a relatively small quantity is required to be supplemented, boron commonly termed “a micro-nutrient”. A minority of Australian crops require relatively large supplements of boron, most notably lucerne (alfalfa), maize, sweet-corn, cotton and soybeans. Regardless of quantity, boron is essential to the production of balanced, virulent and disease free crops.

BORON IN HOUSING MATERIALS AND HOUSEHOLD ITEMS

In Australian housing, boron will be found in ceramic tiles, porcelain bowls and sinks, roof tiles, veneer plastics, bricks, wiring, all items of glass, fiberglass insulation and many other component materials of the house.

Within the house itself, household items containing boron are numerous including refrigerators, heat resistant cookware, all items composed of nylon, pots and lead free crystal to name just a few. Further, in day to day household consumables boron will be found in soaps, detergents, denture cleaners, adhesives, cold cream, makeup, eye-drops and much more.

Perhaps the most unexpected product to contain boron is health pills or tablets bought from any “health food” shop. Boron alleviates bone, joint and arthritic problems.

BORON AS AN AUSTRALIAN HOUSING TIMBER PROTECTION AGENT

Over several centuries boron has been well known to the human race for it’s innate insecticidal and fungicidal properties. Both these properties are in fact of a superior quality and commercial performance when compared with all synthesized or “man made” timber protection chemicals.

Boron-based products have been used effectively by many
government utilities all over the world and in Australia for well over 50 years:

Main Roads in Western Australia use boron products (such as rods and liquids) for their timber bridges as have other councils for many years throughout Australia.Electricity utilities use it for electricity and telephone poles for many years, and Timber and masonry heritage objects such as Tower mill in Brisbane have been treated for protection from decay and as well as moulds and algae. (The 400 year old HMS Mary Rose sunk off Portsmouth (England) in 16th century. The hull was brought up from the deep in 1992 was being restored with a boron treatment)

Some of boron’s superior features and advantages, from a housing timber protection perspective, are:-

• Boron has a low mammalian toxicity, it being similar to NaCl - that is common table salt.
  
• Boron can and is formulated on a water based formulation, such as MABON’S
• PROTECTIMBER. Many chemicals cannot be so formulated.
  
• Boron is persistent, that is it does not degrade or loose activity, whereas most current to market synthetic chemistries do degrade, so necessitating a method or facility for replenishment.
  
• The carbon emissions equation. Boron is mined, not synthesized or manufactured.
  
• Unlike some of the older synthetic chemistry, boron does not bio-accumulate.
  
• Dual action. This superior insecticidal and fungicidal activity is of particular value in timber protection. Boron protects timber from both fungal decay (wood rot)
• PLUS insect attack (borers, termites etc.) as a single application
  
• In-situ housing timbers of H1 and H2 classification (no rainfall exposure or direct ground contact) when treated with boron remain active for the service life of the timber, invariably 100 years plus. LOSP has an unknown life.
  
• Boron is relatively cheap
  
• Boron is a fire retardant
  
• Boron has no odor or undesirable chemical characteristics from a householders perspective, both actual and perceived.
  
• Easy, water based “clean-up” after application
  
• Environmentally friendly
  
• Versatile application options - can be dipped, sprayed, painted or spot- treated

Boron’s limitations or disadvantages from a housing timber protection perspective are:-

• With currently available boron application methodologies – dipping, spraying and painting the penetration is limited, commonly known as an “envelop treatment”
  
• If exposed to repeated heavy rainfall, or regular bouts of flowing water, boron will leach to a limited degree, unless sealed with a product such as one of the Cellavit range.

The above two limitations currently receive much attention from research and development scientists and timber protection organizations, agencies and companies around the world. On at least one front this research and development moves to the commercialization phase.

WHY HAS BORON NOT GAINED GREATER MARKETPLACE UPTAKE?

As a naturally occurring element being mined in approximately fifteen countries, boron has never been patented – or patentable. All of boron’s marketplace competitors have been patented and / or marketed by multi-national research and development based companies, where major financial resource is applied to marketing and sales, often on an international basis. Boron has never seen comparative financing of marketing and sales.

This has not been in the consumers “best interest”. The drivers of this boron situation, and the current outcomes, have been commerce, sales budgets and “bottom line” returns, not technical considerations and consumer “best interests”. In timber protection this phenomenon has largely come about since WW2. An overall understanding of the subject sees some informed commentators predicting a change - that is a change to boron.

Why is this change so predicted you may well ask? Novel technical and environmental dynamics come into play across the marketplace. Key amongst these is the above mentioned novel boron application technology providing a full infusion of boron into timber, soon to render the current and conventional “envelop treatment” obsolete.

HISTORY THAT CAUSED BORON TO BE BY-PASSED
Click here to find out why