Wood and the Law

Abstract

As consultants on the deterioration and preservation of structural materials, particularly wood and stone, Penarth Research Centre provides advisory and experimental services to industrial and Governmental organizations in many parts of the world. In addition to this routine work the Centre carries out special investigations and this article describes some of those in which wood has been involved in crimes, accidents, or civil litigations. The tasks vary from simple tests to check whether a preservation treatment has been carried out correctly to complex investigations into accidents and frauds.