Sonti Kamesam

Sonti Kamesam (1890–30 November 1952) was an Indian timber engineer and scientist who worked at the Forest Research Institute, Dehra Dun. He is best known for his patented wood preservative, ASCU, from the chemical symbols for Arsenic and Copper. The treatment was patented in Britain from 1934 and in the US from 1938. It also went by the name of Chromated Copper Arsenate or CCA in the United States of America from around the 1950s. In his treatment, copper is a fungicide, arsenic is a secondary fungicide and insecticide, while chromium is a fixative which also provides ultraviolet (UV) light resistance. Recognized for the greenish tint it imparts to timber. this preservative was extremely popular for many decades until arsenic toxicity and carcinogenicity was recognized by the US EPA and other regulators.[1][2]

ASCU trademark issued by the USPTO.[3]

Kamesam was born in Narsapur in West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh and was a younger brother of S. V. Ramamurthy. After primary education at Visakhapatnam, he graduated from Presidency College, Chennai and obtained his B.E. from Guindy Engineering College. He also obtained an ME (honours) and became a Member of the Institution of Engineers (India). He joined in Forest Research Institute, Dehra Dun and later promoted as an Expert-in-charge of Wood Preservation. He was sent to Germany for research and worked with Richard Falck (1873-1955), a specialist on fungi and their damage to wood. They developed the 'Falkamesam arsenic-copper mixture' which was patented in Poland in 1932.[4] Until then Wolman's formulation – famously known as Wolman Salts – contained dinitrophenol, a chemical manufactured by Hicksons, UK. In 1933, Kamesam added Copper sulphate as an anti-fungal to the formula of Wolman Salts which worked against termite damage. In addition Kamesam introduced the use of chromium to bind the two salts to the fibres of wood. He received an Indian patent in 1933, a British patent in 1934 and a US patent in 1938.[5][6][7][8]

The application of the ASCU process for use in the Indian Railways was examined by a committee headed by Sir C.V. Raman in 1933-34.[9] In 1936 he designed a highway bridge with a 60-foot span. In order to prove the strength of the bridge, he made two adult elephants, each weighing in at around ten tons, walk across while his children stood underneath.[2][10]

After retirement Kamesam joined Tiruvankur estate as director of the development department. He built many bridges with his preserved wood. He was awarded an honorary D.Sc. by Andhra University for his contributions in 1939.[11] He wrote a booklet on Construction of Better and cheaper highway bridges in 1943.[12]

References
  1. De Venzio, C.D. "Happy Birthday Sonti - Milestone Anniversary Prompts Historical Look at Preserved Wood". AWPA Proceedings. 94.
  2. Steingraber, Sandra (2004). "Late Lessons From Pressure-Treated Wood - Part 1" (PDF). Rachel's Environment & Health News. 784. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 October 2019. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
  3. "Trade-Marks". The Official Gazette of the United States Patent Office. 483 (4): 732. 26 October 1937.
  4. Steinsiek, Peter-Michael (2019). Richard Falck, Mykologe Lebensweg und Werk eines jüdischen Gelehrten (1873-1955) (in German). Universitätsverlag Göttingen. p. 97.
  5. US 2106978A, issued 1938-02-01
  6. Kamesam, S. (1935). "Relative Wood Preservative Efficiency of the Tri- and Pentvalent Forms of Arsenic" (PDF). Current Science. 4 (6): 409–410. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 October 2019. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  7. Pillai, S. K. (1940). "Ascu Wood Preservative and the Forest Research Institute, Dehradun" (PDF). Current Science. 9 (2): 80–81. Archived (PDF) from the original on 25 October 2019. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
  8. Kamesam, S. (1933). Process for the preservation of wood with copper and arsenic compounds that cannot be easily washed out of the wood. Indian patent No 19859.
  9. "The ASCU wood preservation process". Forest Research in India, 1933-34. Part I - The Forest Research Institute. Delhi: Government of India. 1934. pp. 48–54.
  10. Humphrey, David G. (2002). "The chemistry of chromated copper arsenate wood preservatives". Reviews in Inorganic Chemistry. 22 (1): 1–40. doi:10.1515/REVIC.2002.22.1.1. ISSN 2191-0227. S2CID 97965809.
  11. The fourteenth annual report of the Andhra University 1939-40. Andhra University. 1940. p. 21.
  12. Sonti Kamesam (January 1943). Better and cheaper highway bridges;: Their design, and bills of material for spans from 9 ft. to 70 ft., : Amazon.co.uk: Sonti Kamesam: Books. Amazon.co.uk. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 5 May 2015.
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