If the protocols for using Methyl Bromide are adhered to, there will be no danger to you. It has a low boiling point turning into a gas at temperatures above freezing leaving no residue behind. The primary danger is when the process is being carried out in an area that is not air tight. There have been cases where someone was poisoned because of connected pipes between buildings, one of which was being treated for pests. There have also been cases of someone not handling the liquid form correctly and were poisoned through their skin, although inhaling the gas was more common. In any case you will not be in any danger.
As far as reusing crates that have been fumigated in the past, I believe you can, or at least that was common practice. I've often wondered about the practice assuming that they could be contaminated if mingled with other contaminated wood products. There was concern about a nematode that traveled from country to country through untreated conifer lumber used for pallet construction and would "infect" and damage the forests of the destination country. I always thought and still do, that if that is true, then storing heat treated crates in an area that could be contaminated could negate the benefit of heat treating the lumber to begin with. As a result of the ban, we have used only man-made wood products for crate construction. Sorry about the tangent there and I suggest talking with your shipping agent about reusing the crates to be sure.
Dave
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Originally Posted by Gallagher
