Dust Almanac

Zebrawood

Microberlinia brazzavillensis · Fabaceae · hardwood

Also known as: zebrano, African zebrawood

Region: West Central Africa (Gabon, Cameroon, Republic of the Congo)

Planed board of zebrawood with pale gold wood and bold dark brown parallel stripes.

Zebrawood is a heavy African hardwood with bold dark stripes on a pale gold background, used mostly as veneer and for accent pieces, boxes, handles and turned work.

Health hazards

  • Asthma / respiratory allergy

    Evidence: Confirmed in clinical testing

    A worker developed asthma from zebrawood dust; a skin test, a bronchial challenge and a blood allergy test all confirmed sensitivity, while unexposed people did not react. The report identified the wood to the genus Microberlinia.1

    Effects
    asthma
    Exposure route
    inhalation
    From
    dust

  • Cancer

    Evidence: Applies to all wood dust

    All wood dust is classified as carcinogenic to humans, mainly linked to cancers of the nose and sinuses after long-term exposure. This applies to this wood like any other.2

    Effects
    nasal and sinus cancer
    Exposure route
    inhalation
    From
    dust

Not finding a hazard listed here does not mean this wood is safe. All wood dust is hazardous; see how to protect yourself.

Exposure limits

Workplace exposure limits (8-hour average, mg/m³)
BodyLimitNotes
ACGIH TLV1 mg/m³ (inhalable)Applies to wood dust generally; this species has no separate ACGIH value. source
EU binding limit (hardwood)2 mg/m³Applies to all hardwood dust
UK WEL (hardwood)3 mg/m³Applies to all hardwood dust
NIOSH REL1 mg/m³Recommended limit for all wood dust

Compare limits across agencies.

Cancer classifications

Zebrawood in trade comes from Microberlinia brazzavillensis and the closely related M. bisulcata; the asthma report did not name the species.

Sources

  1. Bush RK, Yunginger JW, Reed CE. Asthma due to African zebrawood (Microberlinia) dust. Am Rev Respir Dis. 1978;117(3):601-603. Link
  2. IARC Working Group on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans. Wood Dust and Formaldehyde. IARC Monographs on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans, Vol. 62. Lyon: International Agency for Research on Cancer; 1995. Link
  3. US Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Occupational Chemical Database: Wood Dust. Last updated 06/23/2023. Link

Last reviewed .