HEAT TREATMENT USING A KILN FACILITY
The United States Department of Agriculture Animal & Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Southern Pine Inspection Bureau.The overall direction and control of the cooperative program is to be maintained by APHIS. This program provides the necessary documentation that kiln dried Southern Pine lumber exported to foreign countries has reached a critical temperature at the core to eradicate the "Pinewood Nematode" and its vectors (56°C/133°F for 30 minutes).

SPIB audit services will be provided to lumber producers who have already demonstrated that they can properly kiln dry Southern Pine lumber and in most cases, these producers already stamp their domestic lumber with KD stamps.Since the major portion of export Southern Pine is sold as rough or full rough manufacture, almost none of the material has been grade-marked in the past.The EC countries have stated that all pine species must be kiln dried for sterilization prior to being exported from the USA.This program will require the marking of each and every package of export lumber (destined for EC countries) with a distinctive SPIB mark which identifies the sterilization process (kiln drying) and the location of the kiln facility.

The only effective way to verify the sterilization of lumber products by kiln drying is to audit the kiln facilities of export lumber producers. Since ALSC approved grading agencies already audit the grade-marking of the majority of Southern Pine producers in the South, it seemed to the USFS, APHIS and many foreign countries that it was only logical to ask the grading agencies to verify their subscribers' kiln drying of export products.

The program as developed will require the lumber producers to designate key personnel at their plants who have the responsibility of completely and accurately filling out the forms which will document the sterilization of the Southern Pine through kiln drying. That form entitled "Heat Treatment Certification Using a Kiln Facility" will then be sent to the SPIB office for "Agency Validation" (authorized SPIB staff signature and official SPIB seal).

There is no additional charge for the KD certificates if you are a subscriber.