Wood Allergies and Toxicity

by Eric Meier

“Not to omit any one of them, the yew is similar to these other trees in general appearance . . . It is an ascertained fact that travellers’ vessels, made in Gaul of this wood, for the purpose of holding wine, have caused the death of those who used them.”

–Pliny the Elder, from “Naturalis Historia,” ca. 77 AD

Looking at the above quotation, (taken from a writing nearly two thousand years old), ought to bring—at the very least—a small bit of respect and attention to the matter of safety as it pertains to wood toxicity. If this subject has been known and reported as “ascertained fact” since ancient history, how much more ought we to take heed in modern times, considering that we have so many more well-developed means of communication and testing?

Wood Toxicity and Allergen Chart

Below you’ll find a chart of various wood species, along with their reported effects and properties. The information on this chart has been compiled from many sources, with references given at the bottom.

But just because any given wood is not listed on the chart, does not mean that it is completely safe to use, but simply that adverse reactions have not been reported as of yet. One helpful thing to do if you have confirmed that you’re allergic to a specific species of wood, is to check for related species. You can check any other related species on the page Browse the Database By Scientific Name. Here, you’ll see wood species grouped by genus, and you’ll be able to see if there are any other wood species closely related to the one which you’re allergic to.

For example, Cocobolo is in the Dalbergia genus, and is also closely related to other woods such as Kingwood, Tulipwood, Honduran Rosewood, etc. You’ll find many related species that you may not have known existed, such as: Padauk is related to Kiaat; Bubinga is related to Ovangkol, etc. Also, you may notice two wood types that sound like they’re related, such as Black Cherry (Prunus genus) and Brazilian Cherry (Hymenaea genus), but they are actually quite unrelated.

Wood Species	Reaction	Area(s) Affected	Potency
Abura	irritant, nausea, and giddiness
African Blackwood	irritant, sensitizer
African Boxwood	irritant, headache, asthma
African Mahogany	irritant, sensitizer, NPC (rare)
African Walnut	irritant, NPC (rare)
Afrormosia	irritant, nervous system effects, asthma, splinters go septic
Afzelia	irritant, sneezing
Agba	irritant
Albizzia (Albizia genus)	irritant, nausea, conjunctivitis, giddiness, nose bleeds
Alder	irritant
Alligator Juniper	irritant
Alpine Ash	irritant
Amboyna	irritant, asthma
Andiroba	irritant, sneezing
Aromatic Red Cedar	irritant
Ash (Fraxinus genus)	irritant
Australian Blackwood	irritant, sensitizer, asthma
Australian Cashew Nut	irritant, skin lesions, nosebleeds
Australian Red Cedar	irritant, asthma, violent headache, giddiness, bronchitis, stomach cramps, NPC (rare)
Avodire	irritant, nose bleeds
Ayan	irritant
Bald Cypress	sensitizer
Balsam Fir	sensitizer (from bark/needles)
Birch (Betula genus)	irritant, sensitizer, nausea
Black Cherry	wheezing, giddiness
Black Locust	irritant, nausea
Black Walnut	irritant, sensitizer, NPC (rare)
Blackbean	irritant
Bloodwood	excessive thirst, salivation, nausea	N/A
Bluegum	irritant
Boxwood	irritant, sensitizer
Brazilian Rosewood	irritant, sensitizer
Brazilwood	irritant, headache, nausea, swelling skin, blisters
Brigalow (Acacia harpophylla)	irritant
Bubinga	irritant, lesions
Buckthorn	irritant, sap can cause dermatitis
Camphor	irritant, asthma
Cashew	irritant, sensitizer
Cedar, Spanish	irritant
Cedar of Lebanon	irritant, respiratory disorders
Chechen	irritant, sensitizer
Cocobolo	irritant, sensitizer, nausea, asthma, conjunctivitis
Cocuswood	irritant
Coolibah	irritant
Copaia	irritant
Crow’s Ash	irritant
Cuban Mahogany	irritant
Dahoma	irritant, sensitizer
Dead Finish (Acacia tetragonophylla)	irritant, splinters go septic
Djohar	irritant, skin discoloration, keratitis
Douglas-fir	irritant, giddiness, splinters go septic, nausea
East Indian Rosewood	irritant, sensitizer
Ebony (Diospyros genus)	irritant, sensitizer, conjunctivitis
Elm (Ulmus genus)	irritant, sensitizer, NPC (rare)
English Walnut	irritant, NPC (rare)
European Beech	irritant, sensitizer, NPC (rare)
Eyoum	irritant
Freijo	sensitizer
Gedu Nohor	irritant
Goncalo Alves	sensitizer
Grasstree	irritant
Greenheart	sensitizer, wheezing, splinters go septic, cardiac and intestinal disorders
Grey Box	irritant, rash
Guarea	irritant, sensitizer, asthma, nausea, headache,
Honduran Mahogany	irritant, sensitizer, boils, nausea, giddiness, asthma, HP
Idigbo	irritant
Indian Beech	irritant
Ipe	irritant, headache, asthma, vision effects
Iroko	irritant, sensitizer, asthma, boils, giddiness, HP
Jacareuba	irritant, fainting, insomnia, kidney damage
Jarrah	irritant
Jatoba	irritant
Katalox	irritant
Keruing	irritant
Kiaat	irritant, asthma, bronchitis
Kingwood	irritant, sensitizer, conjunctivitis
Lacewood	irritant
Lemon-Scented Gum	irritant
Lignum Vitae	irritant
Limba	irritant, splinters go septic, asthma
Macassar Ebony	irritant, sensitizer
Makore	irritant, nausea, headache, giddiness, nervous system and blood effects
Mansonia	irritant, sensitizer, nausea, splinters go septic, asthma, giddiness, cardiac disorders
Maple (Acer genus)	irritant, sensitizer, asthma; HP in spalted maple
Marupa	irritant
Meranti (Shorea genus)	irritant
Merbau	irritant
Messmate	irritant, asthma
Milky Mangrove	sap is poisonous, causes irritation to eyes and/or temporary blindness, headache, burning of throat, blistering of skin
Missanda	irritant, headache, giddiness, nausea, disorders of bowels and stomach
Molopangady	irritant, sores
Mountain Ash	irritant
Movingui	irritant
Muhuhu	irritant
Mulga (Acacia aneura)	irritant, headache, nausea, wood contains a virulent poisonous principle used for spear heads by aboriginals
Myrtle	irritant, sensitizer
Myrtle Beech	irritant
Narra	irritant, asthma
New Zealand White Pine	irritant
Northern White Cedar	irritant
Norway Spruce	irritant, asthma
Nyatoh	irritant
Oak (Quercus genus)	irritant, sensitizer, asthma, NPC (rare)
Obeche	irritant, sensitizer, rash, asthma
Okoume	irritant, cough, asthma
Olive	irritant, sensitizer
Opepe	irritant, sensitizer, nervous system effects
Osage Orange	irritant, sap can cause dermatitis
Padauk	irritant, sensitizer, nausea, asthma
Parinari (Parinari genus)	irritant
Pau Ferro	irritant, sensitizer
Pau Marfim	irritant
Peroba Rosa	irritant, sensitizer, nausea, asthma
Phoenician Juniper (Juniperus phoenicea)	irritant, headache, nausea
Pine (Pinus genus)	irritant, asthma
Poison Walnut	bark irritating to skin, dust may cause asthma, nausea, giddiness, sap is toxic and corrosive
Poplar	irritant, blisters, asthma, bronchitis
Port Orford Cedar	irritant
Purpleheart	irritant, sensitizer, nausea
Quebracho	irritant, nausea, NPC (rare)
Queensland Maple	irritant
Ramin	irritant, splinters go septic
Red Bloodwood (Australian)	irritant
Redwood	irritant, sensitizer, asthma, HP, NPC (rare)
Rengas	sap is strongly irritating, blisters, ulcers,
Rimu	irritant
Rose Butternut	irritant, conjunctivitis
Rosewood (Dalbergia genus)	irritant, sensitizer, asthma
Saffron-Heart	irritant, splinters go septic, lung congestion
Sassafras	sensitizer, nausea, respiratory, direct toxin, NPC (rare)
Sapele	irritant, sneezing
Satinwood	irritant, headache
Shittim (Acacia seyal)	irritant, coughing
Slash Pine	irritant, asthma
Snakewood	irritant
Sneezewood	irritant, oils within the wood cause violent sneezing
Southern Redcedar	irritant
Southern Silky Oak	irritant, sap may cause blistering of skin, eyelid inflammation
Spotted Gum	irritant
Spruce (Picea genus)	irritant, sensitizer
Sucupira	irritant
Sumac (Rhus genus)	irritant, bark may cause blisters
Sweetgum	irritant
Teak	irritant, sensitizer, rash, nausea, asthma, vision effects, conjunctivitis, HP
Tree of Heaven	irritant
Turpentine	irritant, swelling
Utile	irritant
Wenge	irritant, sensitizer, splinters go septic, nervous system effects
Western Hemlock	irritant, NPC (rare)
Western Juniper (Juniperus occidentalis)	irritant
Western Red Cedar	irritant, sensitizer, asthma, nervous system effects, NPC (rare)
White Cypress Pine	irritant, asthma, swelling of eyelids, boils, NPC (rare)
White Peroba	irritant, sensitizer, asthma
Willow	sensitizer, nausea, NPC (rare)
Yellow Gum	irritant
Yew (Taxus genus)	irritant, nausea, direct toxin
Yellowheart	irritant
Zebrawood	sensitizer

References:

• Woods Toxic to Man, author unknown
• Woods, B., Calnan, C.D., Toxic Woods, Br. Journal of Dermatology, 1976
• ILO Encyclopedia of Occupational Health and Safety 1983
• Lame, K., McAnn, MEDIUM., AMA Handbook of Poisonous and Injurious Plants, AMA 1985
• Poisondex, Micromedix Inc. 1990
• List of woods and toxicity characteristics, Roy Banner, 1989
• Toxic Woods Information Sheet, (Woodworking sheet #30), Health and Safety Executive, UK
• Campbell, Bruce, Wood/Dust Toxicity, 2006
• Ellis, Neil, Health Hazards & Wood, 1998,
• Pentz, Bill, Medical Risks, 2008
• Timbers & Health, Woodturners Society of Queensland, Inc.
• Robison, Nick von, Potentially Toxic Woods, Musical Instrument Makers Forum, 1998

• Chudnoff, Martin, Tropical Timbers of the World, Forest Products Laboratory, 1980
• Kukachka, Francis, Properties of Imported Tropical Woods, Forest Products Laboratory, 1969
• Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia, Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., 2008
• Forest Products Laboratory, United States Department of Agriculture

What is a Sensitizer?

You’ve probably already heard the term desensitized—usually in reference to violent movies or images—meaning that we start off as naturally being sensitive to something, and upon more and frequent exposure, we become less and less sensitive to its effects.

Well, with some woods that have been classified as being a sensitizer, the opposite is true: the more we are exposed to a wood’s sawdust or other fine particles, the more sensitive we get to its exposure, and the more severe and adverse the reactions become.

If you ever have an allergic reaction to any wood that has been identified as a sensitizer, use extreme caution in handling or using that species (and related species) in future instances. Some have reactions so severe that they simply have had to stop and discontinue using certain wood species altogether. (Cocobolo is notorious in this regard.)

What is HP?

Hypersensitivity pneumonitis (also called extrinsic allergic alveolitis, EAA) is an inflammation of the alveoli within the lung caused by hypersensitivity to inhaled organic dusts. HP on Wikipedia.

What is NPC?

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma, or sometimes called nasopharyngeal cancer. Basically, it is a cancer of the upper area of the pharnyx, or “throat,” where the nasal passages and auditory tubes join the remainder of the upper respiratory tract. NPC on Wikipedia.