Information You'll Never (ever) Need...

 

 

 

You don't need to know any of this information, so run along.    Scoot.    Actually - you never ever need to know any of the information on this blog - but this instance is even more superfluous than the run-of-the-mill posts..   The other day up at Halibut Point, I stopped walking to look at a telephone pole. At about head height, there was this small badge-like thing nailed to the pole with a roofing nail. I was going to use the image as another "We Asked For Signs" post. Before I did that I looked up OSMOSE and MITC-FUME. Turns out - (and here comes all that information that I told you that you don't need) - a lot of poles have one of these badges nailed to them.  It's a low-tech way of showing when pole was last inspected for insect infestation and rot. In the case of the Rockport pole, they looked at it in 1992.. At that time they applied a solid-melt fumigant called MITC-FUME made by the OSMOSE company..    From the OSMOSE website:  Fumigants are designed to help protect in-service utility poles against strength loss caused by internal decay and insect attack. They produce gases that move within the pole both vertically and horizontally from the application holes, helping to eliminate wood-destroying fungi. They are ideal for protecting heartwood and inner regions of poles.  Fumigant applications can help control incipient decay and help to prevent future fungal attack.  They can be especially helpful when treating Western species (fir and cedar).  Western species are prone to internal decay because they are largely heartwood which is difficult to penetrate and treat. Fumigants are generally applied at or near the groundline area in liquid, granular, or solid melt formulas.  After application, the fumigants begin to volatize and move several feet from the point of application. Now that I know that these little code badges are all around, I see them everywhere.. The poles in my neighborhood were last inspected in 2021 and the fumigant OSMO-FUME was applied.

 

 

 

 

 

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