Yep, Pentachloraphenol is pretty nasty stuff. As a teenager in the 60's, I set a bunch of fence posts on the family farm one summer. My dad had me dip each post in a bucket full of the stuff before setting it in the ground. A few rain storms later the water in the well started to smell like penta. We probably didn't drink it but we did wash clothes in it. I remember going to the movies on a hot night without air conditioning and when my persperation mixed with the penta in the clothes, the itch was unbearable. I had to leave the movie early and strip down in the car and wait for the rest of my friends to come out. Fairly embarrasng as a teenager.

I would suspect that wood soaked with penta would likely yield the same reaction as the dust lay on your skin or in your lungs. Penta has a distinctive odor, very chemical like. Ditto for cresote.

I won't be surprised, however, if they are not treated. WR Cedar is naturally very rot resistant, that is why they probably used it in the first place.

Craig