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The PPL Field Liner is a new concept
to many Utility Pole Engineers,
Utility Pole Specifiers, Utility
Pole suppliers and
Environmentalists. Pioneered by
inventor Albin Baecker in Africa and
implemented by 8 Electric Utilities
(August 2007) in both Africa and the
USA, the Field Liner is set to
become an established standard for
Electric and Telephone Utility
companies around the world that are
concerned about both prolonging the
safe service life of their wooden
pole asset base and preventing toxic
preservatives leaching from their
poles into the environment.
As the Field Liner concept,
particularly the latest
revolutionary and technologically
innovative One Piece Field Liner, is
not fully understood at this time,
we have provided a list of
Frequently Asked Questions which we
hope will help to provide the
information you are seeking in an
easy to navigate form.
If you have questions that are not
answered below or within our
website, please
contact us with your query
What is a ‘Utility Pole’ ?
A Utility Pole is the commonly used
name for a pole that carries
services ‘overground’ such as
Electricity, Telephone and Cable
TV. Other terms used to describe a
pole that carries services include
‘Telegraph Pole’, ‘Telephone Pole’,
‘Power Pole’, ‘Telegraph Post’ and
‘Hydro Poles’.
Whilst alternative materials such as
Concrete, Steel and Composites
(Fibreglass) are used for Utility
Poles, most are made of wood that is
pressure treated with preservative
in accordance with specified
standards. Species utilised include
Southern Pine, Douglas Fir, Western
Red Cedar, Lodgepole Pine and
Pacific Silver Fir. In the USA,
there are estimated to be in excess
of 150 million wood Utility Poles in
service today.
What is a PPL Field Liner ?
A PPL Field Liner is a patented
multi-layered laminate sheaf fitted
to the ‘butt end’ of a Utility Pole
ie the length of pole that is in
ground contact. The PPL Field Liner
prevents the preservative with which
Utility Poles are treated from
leaching into the soil around it and
in so doing, maintains the
effectiveness of the preservatives
with which the Utility Poles are
pressure treated.
Protective Packaging Ltd of the UK,
specialists in barrier protection
packaging solutions, has the global
rights to manufacture and market the
laminate material in all required
forms, including the Field Liner.
The laminate material itself is the
patented invention of world renowned
wood micro-biologist, Professor
Albin Baeker and was perfected and
then manufactured by Protective
Packaging Ltd since 2003.
Why fit Utility Poles with PPL Field
Liners ?
Preservatives that are used to treat
Utility Poles are designed to arrest
or inhibit fungal decay which
inevitably affects all wood in
ground contact and it is fungal
decay, particularly in ground
contact, that is a significant cause
of Utility Pole failure. By ensuring
that preservative retention levels
are maintained at or above
prescribed standards as determined,
for example, by the American Wood
Protection Association (AWPA), the
efficacy of the preservative is
improved. Hence, PPL Field Liners
will ‘Prolong Pole Life by retaining
preservative levels and preventing
fungal decay.
An ever increasing threat to Utility
Poles, especially in the southern
states of America, is termite
activity and in particular the
Formosan termite, a veracious
invader from China that has caused
serious damage to wooden structures
including Utility Poles. The
preservatives with which Utility
Poles are treated generally have
both ‘biocidal’ and ‘insecticidal’
properties but of course, as
retention levels fall, the
effectiveness of preservatives falls
as well. The laminate material from
which PPL Field Liners are
constructed includes an insecticidal
layer that will repel termites and
other insects from trying to attack
the lined Utility Pole through the
liner itself. Hence, PPL Field
Liners prevent termite attack, a
major financial risk to utilities in
termite affected areas.
Another key issue of concern is that
preservatives leach from poles into
the soil around them and potentially
into the water table. The nature of
most commonly used preservatives are
that they are toxic to a greater or
lesser degree and many are banned
from all but specific uses with
Utility Poles being a notable
exemption to the general rules. By
retaining preservatives within the
lined Utility Pole, not only does
the PPL Field Liner protect the pole
from it’s environment, it protects
the environment from the pole by
preventing the leaching of toxic
preservatives.
How is the PPL Field Liner installed
?
The PPL Field Liner is quick and
easy to fit at the point of setting.
Taking up very little space on the
Line Truck, the Linemen simply pull
the PPL Field Liner sheaf over the
butt end of a new Utility Pole
immediately prior to setting. The
entire process takes less than 2
minutes to provide lifelong
protection for the Utility Pole.
The nearest comparable systems on
the market, generally referred to as
‘Barrier Wraps’, have to either be
installed at the pole yard or at the
electric utility’s store yard rather
than at the point of setting.
Handling and transportation
inevitably compromises the integrity
of the material used and also adds
cost.
How Does the PPL Field Liner protect
a Utility Pole ?
Fundamentally, by creating an
impermeable barrier layer that
prevents preservatives from leaching
out of the pole and which itself is
protected from fungal decay and
attack from termites. Other ‘barrier
wraps’ are generally less
technologically advanced than the
patented PPL Field Liner which
comprises of four layers ‘tied’
together as a single laminate
material.
Looking at the structure of the
material between the pole and the
soil, the ‘Bioplast™ layer that is
in direct contact with the pole
itself operates against fungicidal
attack. The next layer, made of
Aluminium, is an impermeable barrier
that prevents preservatives leaching
into the soil and fungi attacking
the pole. The ‘Deltaplast™’ layer is
next, preventing insects such as
subterranean termites from attacking
the pole and the aluminium barrier.
Last but not least is the outer
layer, a strong UV resistant
polyester material that protects the
entire system from damage through
external factors such as abrasion
and UV light.
What are the Financial Benefits of
the PPL Field Liner ?
The Financial Benefits of the PPL
Field Liner derive from extending
the serviceable life of new wooden
utility poles and from the reduction
in costly servicing and remedial
treatments during their lifetime.
This is because the PPL Field Liner
is an effective ‘Biotechnological
Device’ that will substantially
increase the lifespan of any utility
pole by protecting it from
fungicidal and pesticidal attack far
more effectively than a preservative
treatment alone could achieve.
The addition of a PPL Field Liner to
a utility pole will extend the
serviceable life of that pole from
30 – 40 years to at least 80 years
with extended inspection cycles
during that period, the financial
benefits of which are clear and
calculable. PPL Field Liner
proposition are that it delivers
clear, irrefutable and calculable
financial and environmental benefits
to all stakeholders – Utility
Companies, Utility Consumers,
Society and our Environment as a
whole.
What are the Environmental Benefits
of the PPL Field Liner ?
The environmental benefits of the
PPL Field Liner are abundantly
clear. The PPL Field Liner will
directly reduce environmental
pollution in a number of ways not
least by preventing toxic
preservative from leaching into the
soil and into water supplies.
Researchers estimate that 30-80% of
Penta applied to wood is released
with the first year. The PPL Field
Liner barrier to leaching means that
the preservative stays where it is
meant to be, protecting the wooden
pole rather than polluting our
environment.
The reduction in energy used to
produce replacement poles and the
reduction in pollutant waste
generated as a consequence has a
further significant positive
environmental benefit. With the
serviceable life of utility poles
doubled, fewer waste utility poles
will need to be dealt with.
By doubling the life of a utility
pole, there is a long term and
sustainable requirement for far
fewer replacement utility poles.
This leads to lower energy
consumption requirements, at all
stages of the life cycle of a
utility pole and to reduced waste
and pollution. The fundamentals of
the life cycle of a utility pole are
that it starts as a tree, this raw
material is then processed, the pole
itself is manufactured, it is then
set in place, it is serviced during
it’s lifetime and ultimately it is
removed and disposed of. Each and
every stage of this process consumes
energy and produces pollutant waste.
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