Wood dust and toxic woods
Every wood makes dust, and the authorities treat wood dust itself as the main hazard. A few species are also listed as sensitizers: after exposure, some people react to them on the skin or in the airways. This page sets out only what those authorities publish. It is not medical advice.
Wood dust in general
- The International Agency for Research on Cancer classes wood dust as carcinogenic to humans (Group 1), chiefly for cancers of the nose and sinuses.
- OSHA's limit for nuisance dust is 15 mg/m³ total and 5 mg/m³ respirable over an 8-hour shift; NIOSH recommends 1 mg/m³ of total wood dust; and the ACGIH recommends 0.5 mg/m³ for western red cedar because of asthma. All three are quoted in OSHA's sawmill guidance.
Woods listed as sensitizers
Germany's federal list of sensitizing substances, TRGS 907 (Annex 2, November 2011 edition), names the woods below. No US agency publishes a species-by-species list. A wood that isn't listed has no claim made about it either way.
| Botanical name | Names in TRGS 907 | Sensitizes | On this site |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acacia melanoxylon | Tropische Akazie | skin | — |
| Brya ebenus | Coccusholz | skin | — |
| Chlorophora excelsa | Iroko, Kambala | skin | Iroko |
| Dalbergia latifolia | Ostindischer Palisander | skin | Indian rosewood |
| Dalbergia melanoxylon | Afrikanisches Grenadillholz | skin | — |
| Dalbergia nigra | Rio Palisander | skin | Brazilian rosewood |
| Dalbergia retusa | Cocobolo | skin | Cocobolo |
| Dalbergia stevensonii | Honduras Palisander | skin | — |
| Distemonanthus benthamianus | Ayan, Movingui | skin | — |
| Grevillea robusta | Australische Silbereiche | skin | — |
| Khaya anthotheca | Afrikanisches Mahagoni | skin | — |
| Machaerium scleroxylon | Santos Palisander | skin | — |
| Mansonia altissima | Bété | skin | — |
| Paratecoma peroba | Peroba do campo, Peroba jaune | skin | — |
| Tectona grandis | Teak | skin | Teak |
| Terminalia superba | Limba | airways | Limba |
| Thuja plicata | Riesenlebensbaum, Rotzeder | airways and skin | Western red cedar |
| Triplochiton scleroxylon | Abachi, Obeche | airways and skin | Obeche |
The trade names are TRGS 907's own, in German. Our species pages link only where the page covers that exact species.
What we don't publish
Many "wood toxicity charts" online rate dozens of species for irritation and toxicity. This page repeats only what a named health authority publishes, so those ratings are not here. Each species page carries the dust facts above, and the TRGS 907 line where the list names that species.