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Quarantine and preshipment (QPS)

The exemption that still allows methyl bromide for official pest-control treatments of traded goods.

Last reviewed October 27, 2026 by repallet.org editors.

Quarantine and preshipment, or QPS, treatments are fumigations required by plant-health authorities for goods in trade. Under the international phase-out of methyl bromide, QPS uses were exempted, and EPA's methyl bromide page lists quarantine and preshipment, alongside critical uses, as the exceptions to the US phase-out.

This is why MB-marked wood packaging can still be found, even though methyl bromide production and consumption have otherwise been phased out in the US. ISPM 15 lists methyl bromide fumigation as an approved treatment for wood packaging.

For a business handling pallets, QPS explains why MB marks still appear. For anyone reusing pallets at home, the advice doesn't change: avoid MB wood. See MB pallets.

The exemption is about trade rules, not about whether the wood is safe for household reuse.

Sources

  1. Methyl Bromide (Phaseout of Ozone-Depleting Substances) U.S. EPA. Accessed October 27, 2026.
  2. 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.

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