Alex, you touched on something the pine deniers don't:
Originally Posted by kitedemon
Aspen also contain phenols and oils as does cypress. One of the erroneous tenets of the pine truthers is that somehow only pine (and cedar) produce irritants.
FWIW, I have never seen commercially available pine bedding - marketed as pine bedding - that was NOT dried. Since it is sold and marketed for it's absorptive qualities and needs to be packaged and processed in a way that maximizes it's shelf life, drying is the rule, not the exception. It is also screened and efforts are made to remove dust.
No one should purchase raw chips from any tree for their bedding.