A manufactured chemical that used to be the most heavily used biocide in the U.S. and as a wood preservative. Today, it is still used as a wood preservative but can only be applied by certified applicators. It can contaminate your drinking water supplies especially through discharges from wood preserving factories and contaminated soil at waste sites that filtrates into groundwater. Short-term exposure to high doses of this chemical can damage the liver, kidneys, lungs, nervous and immune systems, gastrointestinal tract and blood, and can also produce elevated temperature, muscle twitching and even coma. Long-term effects also include damage to liver, kidneys, blood and nervous system, and it has been known to be a potential carcinogen.