Methyl bromide (MB)
A toxic, ozone-depleting fumigant once widely used on pallets, marked MB under ISPM 15.
Methyl bromide is an odourless, colourless gas used to fumigate soil and commodities, including wood packaging. EPA describes it as toxic and as an ozone-depleting substance, and the United States has phased out its production and consumption except for critical uses and quarantine and preshipment treatments.
Pallets fumigated with it carry MB in their ISPM 15 mark. Because the fumigant dissipates rapidly, EPA notes it is most dangerous at the fumigation site. We haven't found a study quantifying household risk from old MB pallets, so the conservative advice stands.
Keep MB pallets out of homes, gardens, animal housing and fires, and put them back into pallet use instead. See MB pallets.
If you find MB pallets on your dock, they can still go to a reuse company as pallets.
Sources
- Methyl Bromide (Phaseout of Ozone-Depleting Substances) U.S. EPA. Accessed October 27, 2026.
- ISPM 15: Regulation of wood packaging material in international trade (2018 edition) IPPC / FAO. Accessed October 27, 2026. Annex 1: heat treatment (HT) to a minimum of 56 °C for 30 continuous minutes through the whole profile of the wood.